GIFT  OF 


[See  page  248 


SEYD      LIFTED      FRANCESCA      AND      LEAPED 


THE  MYSTERY  OF 

THE   BARRANCA 


BY 

HERMAN    WHITAKER 

AUTHOR   OF 

"THE  PLANTER"  AND 
"THE  SETTLER" 


NEW   YORK    AND    LONDON 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 

MCMX  I  II 


/ 1  0  0 


COPYRIGHT.    1913.    BY    HARPER   ft    BROTHERS 


PRINTED   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES   OF   AMERICA 
PUBLISHED    FEBRUARY.    1913 


M-M 


"  To  Vera,  my  daughter  and  gentle  collaborator, 
whose  nimble  fingers  lightened  the  load  of  many 
labors,  this  book  is  lovingly  dedicated." 


293090 


THE    MYSTERY 
OF   THE   BARRANCA 


THE  MYSTERY 
OF  THE  BARRANCA 


CHAPTER  I 

OH,  Bob,  just  look  at  them!" 
Leaning  down  from  his  perch  on  the 
sacked  mining  tools  which  formed  the  apex  of 
their  baggage,  Billy  Thornton  punched  his  com 
panion  in  the  back  to  call  his  attention  to  a  scene 
which  had  spread  a  blaze  of  humor  over  his  own 
rich  crop  of  freckles. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  spectacle  of  two  men 
fondly  embracing  can  always  be  depended  on  to 
stir  the  crude  Anglo-Saxon  sense  of  humor.  In 
this  case  it  was  rendered  still  more  ridiculous  by 
age  and  portliness,  but  two  years'  wandering 
through  interior  Mexico  had  accustomed  Thorn 
ton's  comrade,  Robert  Seyd,  to  the  sight.  After 
a  careless  glance  he  resumed  his  contemplation 
of  the  crowd  that  thronged  the  little  station. 
Exhibiting  every  variety  of  Mexican  costume, 
from  the  plain  white  blanket  of  the  peons  to  the 

1 


THE   IVIYSTERY  QE   THE   BARRANCA 

leather  suits  of  the  rancheros'and  the  hacendados, 
or  owners  of  estates,  it  was  as  picturesque  and 
brilliant  in  color  and  movement  as  anything 
in  a  musical  extravaganza.  The  European  cloth 
ing  of  a  young  girl  who  presently  stepped  out  of 
the  ticket  office  emphasized  the  theatrical  flavor 
by  its  vivid  contrast.  She  might  easily  have 
been  the  captive  heroine  among  bandits,  and  the 
thought  actually  occurred  to  Billy.  While  she 
paused  to  call  her  dog,  a  huge  Siberian  wolf 
hound,  she  was  hidden  from  Seyd's  view  by  the 
stout  embracers.  Therefore  it  was  to  the  dog 
that  he  applied  Billy's  remark  at  first. 

"Isn't  she  a  peach?" 

She  seemed  the  finest  of  her  race  that  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  Seyd  was  just  about  to  say  that 
she  carried  herself  like  a  "perfect  lady"  when  the 
dissolution  of  the  aforesaid  embrace  brought  the 
girl  into  view.  He  stopped — with  a  small  gasp 
that  testified  to  his  astonishment  at  her  unusual 
type. 

Although  slender  for  her  years — about  two  and 
twenty — her  throat  and  bust  were  rounded  in 
perfect  development.  The  clear  olive  com 
plexion  was  undoubtedly  Spanish,  yet  her  face 
lacked  the  firm  line  that  hardens  with  the  years. 
Perhaps  some  strain  of  Aztec  blood — from  which 
the  Spanish-Mexican  is  never  free — had  helped 
to  soften  her  features,  but  this  would  not  account 
for  their  pleasing  irregularity.  A  bit  retrousee, 
the  small  nose  with  its  well-defined  nostrils  pat- 

2 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

terned  after  the  Celtic.  Had  Seyd  known  it, 
the  face  in  its  entirety — colors  and  soft  contours 
— is  to  be  found  to  this  day  among  the  descend 
ants  of  the  sailors  who  escaped  from  the  wreck 
of  the  Spanish  Armada  on  the  west  coast  of 
Ireland.  Pretty  and  unusual  as  she  was,  her 
greatest  charm  centered  in  the  large  black  eyes 
that  shone  amid  her  clear  pallor,  conveying  in 
broad  day  the  tantalizing  mystery  of  a  face  seen 
for  an  instant  through  a  warm  gloaming.  In  the 
moment  that  he  caught  their  velvet  glance  Seyd 
received  an  impression  of  vivacious  intelligence 
altogether  foreign  in  his  experience  of  Mexican 
women. 

As  she  was  standing  only  a  few  feet  away,  he 
knew  that  she  must  have  heard  Billy's  remark; 
but,  counting  on  her  probable  ignorance  of  Eng 
lish,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  answer.  "Pretty? 
Well,  I  should  say — pretty  enough  to  marry. 
The  trouble  is  that  in  this  country  the  ugliness 
of  the  grown  woman  seems  to  be  in  inverse 
ratio  to  her  girlish  beauty.  Bet  you  the  fattest 
hacendado  is  her  father.  And  she'll  give  him 
pounds  at  half  his  age." 

"Maybe,"  Billy  answered.  "  Yet  I'd  be  almost 
willing  to  take  the  chance." 

As  the  girl  had  turned  just  then  to  look  at  the 
approaching  train  neither  of  them  caught  the  sud 
den  dark  flash,  supreme  disdain,  that  drew  an 
otherwise  quite  tender  red  mouth  into  a  scarlet 
line.  But  for  the  dog  they  would  never  have 

3 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

been  a  whit  the  wiser.  For  as  the  engine  came 
hissing  along  the  platform  the  brute  sprang 
and  crouched  on  the  tracks,  furiously  snarling, 
ready  for  a  spring  at  the  headlight,  which  it  evi 
dently  took  for  the  Adam's  apple  of  the  strange 
monster.  The  train  still  being  under  way,  the 
poor  beast's  faith  would  have  cost  it  its  life  but 
for  Seyd's  quickness.  In  the  moment  that  the 
girl's  cry  rang  out,  and  in  less  time  than  it  took 
Billy  to  slide  from  his  perch,  Seyd  leaped  down, 
threw  the  dog  aside,  and  saved  himself  by  a  spring 
to  the  cow-catcher. 

"Oh,  you  fool!  You  crazy  idiot!"  While 
thumping  him  soundly,  Billy  ran  on,  "To  risk 
your  life  for  a  dog — a  Mexican's,  at  that!" 

But  he  stopped  dead,  blushed  till  his  freckles 
were  extinguished,  as  the  girl's  voice  broke  in 
from  behind. 

"And  the  Mexican  thanks  you,  sir.  It  was 
foolhardy,  yes,  and  dearly  as  I  love  the  dog  I 
would  not  have  had  you  take  such  a  risk.  But 
now  that  it  is  done — accept  my  thanks."  As  the 
stouter  of  the  embracers  now  came  bustling  up, 
she  added  in  Spanish,  "My  uncle,  senor." 

At  close  range  she  was  even  prettier;  but, 
though  gratitude  had  wiped  out  the  flash  of 
disdain,  a  vivid  memory  of  his  late  remarks 
caused  Seyd  to  turn  with  relief  to  the  hacendado. 
During  the  delivery  of  effusive  thanks  he  had 
time  to  cancel  a  first  impression — gained  from 
a  rear  view  of  a  gaudy  jacket — of  a  fat  tenor  in  a 

4 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Spanish  opera,  for  the  man's  head  and  features 
were  cast  in  a  massive  mold.  His  big  fleshy  nose 
jutted  out  from  under  heavy  brows  that  over 
shadowed  wide,  sagacious  eyes,  Indian-brown  in 
color.  If  the  wind  and  weather  of  sixty  years  had 
tanned  him  dark  as  a  peon,  it  went  excellently 
with  his  grizzled  mustache.  Despite  his  stout 
ness  and  the  costume,  every  fat  inch  of  him  ex 
pressed  the  soldier. 

"My  cousin,  senor." 

Having  been  placed,  metaphorically,  in  posses 
sion  of  all  the  hacendado's  earthly  possessions, 
Seyd  turned  to  exchange  bows  with  a  young  man 
who  had  just  emerged  from  the  baggage-room — 
at  least  he  seemed  young  at  the  first  glance.  A 
second  look  showed  that  the  impression  was 
largely  due  to  a  certain  trimness  of  figure  which 
was  accentuated  by  the  perfect  fit  of  a  suit  of 
soft-dressed  leather.  When  he  raised  his  felt 
sombrero  the  hair  showed  thin  on  his  temples. 
Neither  were  his  poise  and  imperturbable  manner 
attributes  of  youth. 

"It  was  very  clever  of  you,  senor." 

A  slight  peculiarity  of  intonation  made  Seyd 
look  up.  "Jealous,"  he  thought,  yet  he  was  con 
scious  of  something  else — some  feeling  too  elu- 
sively  subtle  to  be  analyzed  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment.  Suggesting,  as  it  did,  that  he  had  made 
a  "gallery  play,"  the  remark  roused  in  him  quick 
irritation.  But  had  it  been  possible  to  frame  an 
answer  there  was  no  time,  for  just  then  the  fa- 

5 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

miliar  cry,  "  Vaminos!"  rang  out,  and  the  Amer 
ican  conductor  hustled  uncle,  niece,  and  her  dog 
into  the  nearest  car. 

The  entire  incident  had  occupied  little  more 
than  a  moment,  and  as,  a  little  bewildered  by  its 
rush,  Seyd  stood  looking  after  the  train  he  found 
himself  automatically  raising  his  cap  in  reply  to  a 
fluttering  handkerchief. 

"You  Yankees  are  certainly  very  enterprising." 

Turning  quickly,  Seyd  met  again  the  glance  of 
subtle  hostility.  But,  though  he  felt  certain  that 
the  remark  had  been  called  forth  by  his  salute, 
he  had  no  option  but  to  apply  it  to  the  mining  kit 
toward  which  the  other  was  pointing. 

"You  are  for  the  mines,  senor?  In  return  for 
your  service  to  my  cousin  it  is,  perhaps,  that  I 
can  be  of  assistance — in  the  hiring  of  men  and 
mules?" 

While  equally  quiet  and  subtle,  the  patronage 
in  his  manner  was  easier  to  meet.  Undisturbed, 
however,  when  Seyd  declined  his  offer,  he  saun 
tered  quietly  away. 

"Bueno!    As  you  wish." 


CHAPTER  II 

I'LL  be  with  you  in  a  minute,  folks." 
To  appreciate  the  accent  which  the 
American  station  agent  laid  on  "folks"  it  is 
necessary  that  one  should  have  been  marooned 
for  a  couple  of  years  in  a  ramshackle  Mexican 
station  with  only  a  chocolate-skinned  henchman, 
or  mozo,  for  companion.  It  asserted  at  once  wel 
come  and  patriotic  feeling. 

"You  know  this  isn't  the  old  United  States," 
he  added,  hurrying  by.  "  These  greasers  are  the 
limit.  Close  one  eye  for  half  a  minute  and  when 
you  open  it  again  it's  a  cinch  you'll  find  the  other 
gone.  If  they'd  just  swipe  each  other's  baggage 
it  wouldn't  be  so  bad.  But  they  steal  their  own, 
then  sue  the  company  for  the  loss.  Here,  you 
sons  of  burros,  drop  that!"  with  which  he  dived 
headlong  into  the  midst  of  the  free  fight  that  a 
crowd  of  cargadores,  or  porters,  were  waging  over 
the  up-train  baggage. 

Taking  warning,  the  two  returned  to  their  own 
baggage.  As  they  waited,  talking,  these  two 
closest  of  friends  offered  a  fairly  startling  con 
trast.  In  the  case  of  Seyd,  a  graduate  in  min 
ing  of  California  University,  years  of  study  and 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

strain  had  tooled  his  face  till  his  aggressive  nose 
stood  boldly  out  above  hollowed  cheeks  and 
black-gray  eyes.  A  trifle  over  medium  height, 
the  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  he  ought  to  have 
carried  had  been  reduced  a  good  ten  pounds  by 
years  of  prospecting  in  Mexico  and  Arizona. 
This  loss  of  flesh,  however,  had  been  more  than 
made  up  by  a  corresponding  gain  in  muscle. 
Moving  a  few  paces  around  the  baggage,  he  ex 
hibited  the  easy,  steady  movement  that  comes 
from  the  perfect  co-ordination  of  nerve  and 
muscle.  His  feet  seemed  first  to  feel,  then  to 
take  hold  of  the  ground.  In  fact,  his  entire  ap 
pearance  conveyed  the  impression  of  force  under 
perfect  control,  ready  to  be  turned  loose  in  any 
direction. 

Shorter  than  Seyd  by  nearly  half  a  foot,  Billy 
Thornton,  on  the  other  hand,  was  red  where  the 
other  was  dark,  loquacious  instead  of  thoughtful. 
From  his  fiery  shock  of  red  hair  and  under- 
growths  of  red  stubble  to  his  slangy  college  utter 
ance  he  proved  the  theory  of  the  attraction  of 
opposites.  Bosom  friends  at  college,  it  had  al 
ways  been  understood  between  them  that  when 
either  got  his  "hunch"  the  other  should  be  called 
in  to  share  it.  And  as  the  luck — in  the  shape  of 
a  rich  copper  mine — had  come  first  to  Seyd,  he 
had  immediately  wired  for  Billy.  They  were 
talking  it  over,  as  they  so  often  before  had  done, 
when  the  agent  returned. 

"Why — you're  the  fellow  that  was  down  here 

8 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

last  fall,  ain't  you?"  he  asked,  offering  his  hand. 
"Didn't  recognize  you  at  first.  You  don't  mean 
to  say  that  you  have  denounced — " 

"—The  Santa  Gertrudis  prospect?"  Seyd 
nodded.  "He  means  the  opposition  I  told  you 
we  might  expect."  He  answered  Billy's  look  of 
inquiry. 

"Opposition!"  The  agent  spluttered.  "That's 
one  word  for  it.  But  since  you're  so  consarnedly 
cool  about  it,  mister,  let  me  tell  you  that  this 
makes  the  eleventh  time  that  mine  has  been 
denounced,  and  so  far  nobody  has  succeeded  in 
holding  it."  Looking  at  Billy,  probably  as  being 
the  more  impressionable,  he  ran  on:  "The  first 
five  were  Mex  and  as  there  were  no  pesky  foreign 
consuls  to  complicate  the  case  with  bothersome 
inquiries,  they  simply  vanished.  One  by  one  they 
came,  hit  the  trail  out  there  in  a  cloud  of  dust, 
and  were  never  seen  again. 

"After  them  came  the  Dutchman,  a  big  fat 
fellow,  obstinate  as  one  of  his  own  mules,  and  a 
scrapper.  For  a  while  it  looked  as  though  he'd 
make  good — might  have,  perhaps,  if  he  hadn't 
taken  to  using  his  dynamite  box  for  a  pillow. 
You  see,  his  peons  used  to  steal  the  sticks  to  fish, 
and  so  many  of  them  blew  themselves  into  king 
dom  come  that  he  was  always  running  shy  on 
labor.  So,  as  I  say,  he  used  the  box  for  a  pillow 
till  it  went  off  one  night  and  distributed  him  all 
over  the  Barranca  de  Guerrero.  Just  how  it 
came  about  of  course  nobody  knew,  nor  cared, 

9 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

and  they  never  did  find  a  piece  big  enough  to 
warrant  an  inquest.  It  just  went  as  accidental, 
and  he'd  scarcely,  so  to  say,  stopped  raining  be 
fore  a  Frenchman  jumped  the  claim.  But  he 
only  lasted  for  a  couple  of  days,  landed  back  here 
within  a  week,  and  jumped  the  up  train  without 
a  word. 

"Last  came  the  English  Johnnies,  two  of  'em, 
the  real  'haw,  haw'  boys;  no  end  of  style  to  them 
and  their  outfit.  As  they  had  hosts  of  friends  up 
Mexico  City,  it  would  never  have  done  to  use 
harsh  measures.  But  if  the  Johnnies  had  in 
fluence  of  one  sort,  Don  Luis — he's  the  land 
owner,  you  know — had  it  to  burn  of  another. 
Not  only  did  he  gain  a  general's  commission  dur 
ing  the  revolutionary  wars,  but  he's  also  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Mexican  Congress,  so  close  to  the 
government  that  he  needs  only  to  wink  to  get 
what  he  wants.  So  just  about  the  time  the 
Johnnies  had  finished  development  work  and 
begun  to  deliver  ore  out  here  at  the  railroad — 
presto!  freights  went  up,  prices  went  down,  till 
they'd  wiped  out  the  last  cent  of  profit.  Out  go 
the  Johnnies — enter  you."  With  real  earnest 
ness  he  concluded :  "  Of  course,  there's  nothing  I'd 
like  better  than  to  have  you  for  neighbors.  It 
ain't  so  damn  lively  here.  But  I'd  hate  to  see 
you  killed.  Take  my  advice,  and  quit." 

He  had  addressed  himself  principally  to  Billy. 
But  instead  of  discouragement,  impish  delight 
illumined  the  latter 's  freckles. 

10 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"A  full-sized  general  with  the  whole  Mexican 
government  behind  him?  Bully!  I  never  ex 
pected  anything  half  so  good.  But,  say !  If  the 
mine  is  so  rich  why  don't  the  old  cock  work  it 
himself  instead  of  leaving  it  to  be  denounced  by 
any  old  tramp?" 

"Because  he  don't  have  to.  He  has  more 
money  now  than  he  ever  can  use.  He  is  worth 
half  a  million  in  cattle  alone.  And  he's  your 
old-fashioned  sort  that  hate  the  very  thought  of 
change.  By  the  way,  he  just  left  on  the  up 
train,  him  and  his  niece." 

"  What,  the  girl  with  the  dog?"  Billy  yelled  it. 
"Didn't  you  see — no,  you  were  in  the  baggage- 
room.  Well,  he's  our  dearest  friend — presented 
Seyd  here  with  all  of  his  horses,  cattle,  lands,  and 
friends.  A  bit  of  a  mining  claim  ought  not  to  cut 
much  ice  in  an  order  like  that." 

"You  met  them?"  The  agent  shook  his  head, 
however,  after  he  had  heard  the  particulars. 
"Don't  count  much  on  Spanish  courtesies.  They 
go  no  deeper  than  the  skin.  Nice  girl,  the  niece, 
more  like  us  than  Mex,  and  she  ain't  full-blood, 
for  matter  of  that.  Her  grandfather  was  Irish, 
a  free  lance  that  fought  with  Diaz  during  the 
French  war.  His  son  by  a  Mexican  wife  married 
Don  Luis's  sister,  and  when  he  died  she  and  her 
daughter  came  to  keep  the  old  fellow's  house,  for 
he's  been  a  widower  these  twenty  years.  Like 
most  of  the  sprigs  of  the  best  Mexican  families, 
she  was  educated  in  Europe,  so  she  speaks  three 
2  11 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

languages — English,  French,  and  Spanish.  Yes, 
they're  nice  people  from  the  old  Don  down,  but 
lordy !  how  he  hates  us  gringos.  He'll  repay  you 
for  the  life  of  the  dog — perhaps  by  saving  you 
alive  for  a  month?  But  after  that — take  my  ad 
vice,  and  git." 

While  he  was  talking,  Seyd  had  listened  with 
quiet  interest.  Now  he  put  in,  "We  will — just 
as  quickly  as  we  can  hire  men  and  burros  to 
pack  our  stuff  out  to  the  mine." 

"Well,  if  you  will — you  will."  Having  thus 
divested  himself  of  responsibility,  the  agent  con 
tinued:  "And  here's  where  your  troubles  begin. 
Though  donkey-drivers  are  as  thick  as  fleas  in 
this  town,  I  doubt  whether  you  can  hire  one  to  go 
to  Santa  Gertrudis." 

"But  the  Englishmen?"  Seyd  questioned. 
"They  must  have  had  help." 

"Brought  their  entire  outfit  down  with  them 
from  Mexico  City." 

After  Seyd's  rejection  of  his  offer  the  hacendado 
had  entered  into  conversation  with  a  ranchero  at 
the  other  end  of  the  platform,  and,  glancing  a 
little  regretfully  in  his  direction,  Seyd  asked, 
"Do  you  know  him?" 

The  agent  nodded.  "Sebastien  Rocha?  Yes, 
he's  a  nephew  to  the  General." 

"He  offered  to  get  me  mules." 

"He  did!  Why,  man  alive!  he  hates  gringos 
worse  than — worse  than  I  hate  Mexicans.  He 
offered  you  help?  I  doubt  he'll  do  it  when  he 

12 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

knows  where  you're  going."  In  a  last  attempt 
at  dissuasion  he  added,  "But  if  he  doesn't  I  can't 
see  how  you  can  win  out  with  rates  and  prices 
at  the  same  mark  that  wiped  out  the  Johnnies." 

"  That's  our  business."  Seyd  laughed.  Then, 
warmed  by  the  honest  fellow's  undoubted  anx 
iety,  he  said,  "Do  you  remember  any  consign 
ment  of  brick  that  ever  came  to  this  station?" 

"Sure,  three  car  loads,  billed  to  the  Dutchman. 
But  what  has  that  to  do—" 

"Just  this — that  the  man  had  the  right  idea. 
Though  the  mine  is  the  richest  copper  proposi 
tion  I  have  ever  seen — besides  carrying  gold 
values  sufficient  to  cover  smelting  expenses — it 
would  never  pay,  as  you  say,  to  ship  it  out  at 
present  prices.  But  once  smelted  down  into 
copper  matte  there's  a  fortune  in  it,  as  the 
Dutchman  knew.  He  had  already  laid  out  the 
foundation  of  an  old-style  Welsh  smelter,  and, 
though  it  isn't  very  big,  we  propose  to  make  it 
stake  us  to  a  modern  plant." 

"So  that's  your  game!"      The  agent  whistled. 

"That's  our  game,"  Billy  confirmed.  "If 
dear  cousin  over  there  can  only  be  persuaded  to 
furnish  the  mules  we  will  do  the  rest.  Go  ask 
him,  Bob." 

Seyd  hesitated.  "I'm  afraid  that  I  turned 
him  down  rather  roughly.  Let's  try  first  our 
selves." 

For  the  last  half  hour  their  baggage  had  formed 
a  center  of  interest  for  the  porters,  mule-drivers, 

13 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

and  hackmen  who  formed  the  bulk  of  the  crowd, 
and  the  snap  of  the  agent's  fingers  brought  a 
score  of  them  running.  Each  tried  to  make  his 
calling  and  election  sure  by  seizing  a  piece  of 
baggage.  In  ten  seconds  the  pile  was  dissolved 
and  was  flowing  off  in  as  many  different  directions 
when  Seyd's  answer  to  a  question  brought  all  to  a 
sudden  halt. 

"To  the  mina  Santa  Gertrudis." 

Crash!  the  kit  of  mining  tools  dropped  from 
the  shoulder  of  the  muleteer  who  had  asked  the 
question,  and  it  had  no  more  than  touched  earth 
before  it  was  buried  under  the  other  pieces. 

"I  told  you  so,"  the  agent  commented,  and  was 
going  on  when  a  voice  spoke  in  from  their  rear. 

"What  is  the  trouble,  senors?" 

The  hacendado  had  approached  unnoticed, 
and,  turning  quickly,  Seyd  met  for  the  third  time 
the  equivocal  look,  now  lightened  by  a  touch  of 
amusement.  Suppressing  a  recurrence  of  irrita 
tion  he  answered,  quietly:  "We  wish  to  go  to  the 
hacienda  San  Nicolas,  senor,  upon  which  we  have 
denounced  the  mining  claim  known  as  the  Santa 
Gertrudis.  For  some  reason  no  one  of  these  men 
will  hire.  Perhaps  you  can  tell  why?" 

"Now  your  fat's  in  the  fire,"  the  agent 
muttered. 

Whether  or  no  he  had  overheard  Seyd's  an 
swer  to  the  muleteer,  the  man's  dark  face  gave  no 
sign.  "Quien  sake?  Ask  their  blood  brother, 
the  burro.  One  would  have  little  to  do  and  time 

14 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

to  waste  if  he  attempted  to  plumb  a  mule- 
driver's  superstitions.  Ola,  Carlos." 

While  he  was  talking  the  crowd  had  continued 
to  back  away,  but  it  stopped  now  and  stood 
staring,  for  all  the  world  like  a  herd  of  frightened 
cattle.  The  big  muleteer  who  had  led  the  re 
treat  returned  on  a  shuffling  run,  and  as  he  stood 
before  the  hacendado,  sombrero  in  hand,  Seyd 
saw  the  fear  in  his  face. 

"This  fellow  sometimes  works  for  me.  You 
will  need" — he  paused,  overlooking  the  baggage 
— "three  burros  and  two  riding-mules.  He  has 
only  two.  Ola,  Mattias !"  When  a  second  mule 
teer  had  come  with  the  same  breathless  haste  he 
gave  the  quiet  order,  "You  will  take  these  senors 
to  Santa  Gertrudis." 

Bowing  slightly,  he  had  walked  away  before 
Seyd  could  lay  hands  on  enough  Spanish  to  state 
his  obligation,  and  as,  pausing,  he  then  looked 
back  his  face  once  more  changed,  expressing 
knowledge  and  sarcastic  amusement  at  the  mixed 
feelings  behind  Seyd's  halting  thanks.  His  bow, 
returning  the  customary  answer,  was  more  than 
half  shrug. 

"It  is  nothing." 

"One  moment,  senor!" 

The  burrors  having  departed  with  their  loads, 
Seyd  and  Billy  were  mounting  to  follow  when  the 
hacendado  called  to  them  from  the  platform. 
"To-night,  of  course,  you  will  stay  in  Chilpancin. 

15 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

But  to-morrow?  By  which  trail  do  you  travel?" 
When  Seyd  answered  he  added  a  word  of  counsel : 
"I  thought  so.  Most  strangers  take  that  way. 
But  there  is  a  shorter  by  many  miles.  In 
struct  your  drivers  to  take  the  old  trail  down 
the  Barranca." 

Thanking  him,  they  rode  on. 

In  accordance  with  the  mysterious  and  im 
mutable  law  which  places  all  Mexican  cities  at 
least  a  mile  from  the  railroad,  they  traveled  nearly 
half  an  hour  before  sighting,  across  a  barranca,  the 
town  cuddled  in  a  hollow  beneath  the  opposite 
hills.  Under  the  rich  light  of  the  waning  sun  the 
variegated  color  of  its  walls,  houses,  churches, 
merged  in  warm  gold,  glowed  like  a  topaz  in  the 
setting  of  the  dark  hills.  Paved  with  river 
cobbles  and  crooked  as  a  dog's  hind  leg,  a  street 
fell  steeply  down  into  the  barranca  from  whose 
black  depths  uprose  the  low  roar  of  rushing 
waters.  Entering  upon  it,  while  still  within 
sound  of  a  freight  engine  puffing  upgrade  to  the 
station,  they  dropped  back  four  hundred  years 
into  the  midst  of  a  life  that  differed  but  little  from 
that  of  the  Aztecs  under  the  Montezumas. 

On  both  sides  of  the  street  one-story  adobes 
flamed  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow — roses, 
purples,  umber,  greens — a  vivid  alternation  which 
was  toned  only  by  the  weathered  gray  of  heavy 
doors  and  massive  oaken  grills  across  the  win 
dows.  At  the  tinkle  of  their  bells  there  would 
come  a  flash  of  Spanish  eyes  in  the  cool  dusk 

16 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

behind  the  windows,  and  a  pretty  face  would 
emerge  from  deep  shadow  to  fade  again  before 
Billy's  smile.  The  peons  and  hooded  women  on 
the  narrow  causeways  were  equally  reserved.  They 
either  passed  without  according  them  notice  or 
returned  to  their  glances  a  stolid  stare.  Theirs 
were  the  dark,  impenetrable  faces  of  old  Mexico. 

While  they  were  climbing  at  a  snail's  pace  the 
opposite  hill,  dusk  fell  over  the  town,  but  pres 
ently,  riding  out  of  a  black  alley  into  the  main 
plaza,  they  emerged  on  a  scene  that  caused  even 
the  matter-of-fact  Billy  to  exclaim  in  wonder. 
On  all  four  sides  hundreds  of  torches  blossomed  in 
the  dusk,  toning  with  soft  rich  lights  the  vivid 
adobes,  tinting  the  cold  white  blankets  and  gar 
ments  of  the  hucksters  who  squatted  by  their 
displays  —  guavas  and  pineapples,  cocoanuts, 
mangoes,  alligator  pears,  and  other  fruits  of  the 
tropics  which  shared  the  same  straw  mat  with 
cabbage,  squash,  onions,  and  other  familiar 
produce  of  the  cold  North.  In  accordance  with 
the  shrewd  policy  that  has  always  kept  the 
Roman  Church  in  close  touch  with  its  world, 
the  booths  extended  to  the  very  doors  of  a  stone 
church  which  occupied  one  side  of  the  square,  and 
the  heavy  odors  of  fried  garlic  mingled  with  the 
breath  of  incense  that  floated  out  through  the 
wide  doors. 

A  religious  fiesta  was  in  full  blast,  and  they 
had  to  turn  the  mules  to  avoid  the  stream  of 
worshipers  who  shuffled  across  the  square,  up 
•  17 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  stone  steps,  and  the  length  of  the  paved 
aisles  to  the  great  altar  which  blazed  with  the 
light  of  a  thousand  candles.  Looking,  as  they 
rode  past,  they  saw  a  peon — whose  spotless 
blanket  shone  whiter  by  contrast  with  the 
scarlet  serape  which  had  fallen  backward  across 
his  calves — erect  on  his  knees,  arms  extended 
in  a  rigid  cross,  a  figure  of  deathless  adoration 
before  the  Virgin.  It  required  only  the  brazen 
storm  of  bells  that  just  then  broke  overhead 
to  complete  the  atmosphere  of  savage  medie 
valism.  The  worshipers  might  easily  have  been 
the  first  Aztec  converts  crawling  before  the  su 
perior  altars  of  the  Spanish  conquerors'  God. 

Seyd,  always  thoughtful  and  sensitive  to  im 
pression,  felt  the  influence  of  the  scene,  and  the 
feeling  deepened  as  their  mules  struck  hollow 
echoes  in  the  vaulted  passage  of  the  hotel  whose 
iron-studded  gates,  barred  windows,  yard-thick 
walls  all  bespoke  a  life  which  had  not  yet  pro 
gressed  beyond  the  era  of  sieges.  A  runway  led 
down  into  a  wide  courtyard  and  to  the  stables 
which  lay  under  a  tiled  gallery,  the  hotel  proper, 
for  the  cell-like  sleeping-rooms  used  by  the  better 
class  opened  upon  it. 

But  the  real  life  of  the  place  surged  in  the 
patio,  or  courtyard,  below,  and,  after  they  had 
dined  on  rice,  eggs,  and  beans,  or  frijoles,  Billy 
and  Seyd  perched  on  the  balustrade  of  the  gal 
lery  to  watch  its  ebb  and  flow.  Into  the  great 
stone  inclosure  muleteers  of  Tepic,  freighters  of 

18 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Guadalajara,  potters  of  Cuernavaca  and  Taxco, 
pilgrims  to  the  far  shrines,  and  their  first  cousins 
in  dirt  and  importunity,  the  beggars,  had  poured 
from  three  main  lines  of  travel,  and  they  were  so 
crowded  that  it  was  difficult  to  find  space  among 
the  mule  panniers,  crates,  and  bundles  for  their 
tiny  cooking-fires.  On  occasion  a  face,  plump 
and  darkly  pretty,  would  bloom  out  of  the  dusk 
as  a  woman  fanned  the  charcoal  under  her  clay 
cooking-pots.  Again,  a  leaping  flame  would  il 
lumine  a  hawk  face,  deeply  bronzed  and  heavily 
mustached,  or  lend  a  deeper  dye  to  the  scarlet  of 
some  sleeper's  serape.  In  its  rich  somber  color 
the  scene  made  a  picture  that  would  have  been 
loved  by  Rembrandt.  Just  as  it  had  done  for 
centuries  before  the  great  master  was  born  to  his 
brush,  the  scene  changed  and  mingled,  ebbed  and 
flowed,  while  its  units  passed  among  the  fires,  ex 
changing  the  gossip  of  the  trails.  The  hum  of 
it  rose  to  the  gallery  like  the  low  roar  of  a  distant 
torrent,  but  out  of  it  Seyd  was  able  to  catch  and 
translate  isolated  scraps. 

"Take  not  thy  aguardiente  to  El  Quiss,  amigo. 
The  administrator — I  tell  it  to  my  ruth,  since  I 
was  well  skinned  by  him — is  a  thief  of  the  nether 
world.  He  would  flay  a  flea  for  the  hide  and  fat." 

"OZa,  Carlos!  The  jefe  [chief  of  police]  of 
San  Pedro  is  keeping  an  eye  for  thy  return  ever 
since  he  bought  the  last  load  of  charcoal." 

"The  swine!  Is  it  my  fault  that  he  expects 
good  oak  burning  for  the  price  of  soft  ceiba?" 

19 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

One  remark  caused  Seyd  to  prick  his  ears,  for 
it  was  addressed  to  one  of  their  own  muleteers. 
"Where  go  the  gringos,  amigo?  To  Santa 
Gertrudis?  And  thou  art  driving  for  them? 
H ombre,  hast  thou  so  little  regard  for  thy  neck?" 

The  answer  was  lost  in  the  sudden  braying  of 
a  burro  in  the  stables  underneath,  but  the  voice 
of  the  questioner,  a  strident  tenor,  rose  over 
all.  "An  order  from  Don  Sebastien?  Caram- 
bar-r-r-r-a!  And  you  go  by  the  old  trail  down 
the  Barranca?  But,  hombre!  It  is — "  The 
voice  lowered  so  that  Seyd  could  not  hear. 

Imagining  that  the  talk  bore  merely  on  the  con 
dition  of  the  trail,  he  dismissed  it  from  his  mind 
and  returned  to  his  study  of  the  crowd,  permit 
ting  his  gaze  to  wander  here,  there,  wherever  the 
incessant  movement  brought  to  the  surface  some 
bit  of  color  or  trait  of  life.  In  this  he  obeyed  a 
natural  instinct.  Endowed  with  a  temperament 
nicely  balanced  between  the  philosophical  and  the 
practical,  he  had  taken  an  auxiliary  course  in 
" letters"  along  with  his  mining  for  the  sole  pur 
pose  of  broadening  his  viewpoint  and  widening 
his  touch  with  life.  Indeed,  he  had  bent  his 
profession  to  the  same  end,  using  it  as  a  means 
to  travel  and  study,  in  which  he  differed  alto 
gether  from  Billy,  who  was  the  mining  engineer 
in  every  dimension.  Where  Billy  saw  only  the 
externals,  humors,  and  absurdities,  and  the  pic- 
turesqueness  of  that  teeming  life,  Seyd's  subtle 
intelligence  took  hold  of  the  primordial  feeling 

20 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

under  it  all.  Contributing  only  an  occasional 
answer  to  the  other's  chatter,  he  bathed  in  the 
atmosphere  and  absorbed  the  wild  medievalism 
of  it  while  reviewing  in  thought  the  events  of  the 
day.  The  girl  and  her  dog,  her  uncle  the  Gen 
eral,  Don  Sebastien  the  hacendado — the  latter 
was  in  his  mind  when  the  sudden  leaping  of  a  fire 
at  the  far  end  of  the  patio  revealed  his  face. 

"Look!"  But  in  the  moment  Seyd  grasped 
Billy's  arm  the  blaze  fell.  "I  thought  I  saw  him 
— that  fellow,  Sebastien — talking  to  Carlos,  our 
mule-driver." 

"Well,  why  not?"  Billy  answered.  "I  gath 
ered  that  he  lives  far  out.  Like  ourselves,  prob 
ably  too  far  to  start  out  to-night." 

"Of  course."  Seyd  nodded.  "He  just  hap 
pened  to  be  in  my  mind.  Only  why  should  he  be 
in  talk  with  our  mule-driver?" 

"Search  me."  Billy  shrugged.  "But  if  he 
was,  it  is  easy  to  prove  it.  There's  Carlos  now. 
Call  him  up  here." 

The  muleteer,  when  questioned  a  minute  later, 
shook  his  head.  "No,  senor,  Don  Sebastien  is 
not  here.  He  rode  out  at  sunset,  is  now  leagues 
away  on  the  trail." 

If  he  were  lying,  his  brown  stolid  face  gave  no 
sign;  and,  having  given  him  his  orders  for  next 
day,  Seyd  returned  to  his  study  of  the  crowd.  He 
had  forgotten  the  incident  by  the  time  Billy 
dragged  him  away  to  bed. 


CHAPTER  III 

IF  we  are  on  the  road  at  daybreak  we  shall 
reach  the  Barranca  early  in  the  afternoon," 
Seyd  had  said,  commenting  on  his  order  to  the 
mule-driver.  But,  fagged  out  by  the  day's  hot 
travel,  they  did  not  awaken  until  a  slender  beam 
of  light  stole  between  the  iron  window  bars  and 
laid  a  golden  finger  across  Billy's  eyes. 

"We  shall  have  to  hustle  now."  Seyd  con 
cluded  a  diatribe  on  the  Mexican  mozo  in  general 
while  they  were  dressing.  "For  you  must  see 
the  Barranca  by  daylight.  Without  its  naked 
savagery  it  is  as  big  and  grand  as  the  Colorado 
Canon.  Besides,  if  this  trail  is  as  dizzy  a  propo 
sition  as  the  one  I  went  by  on  the  last  trip,  I'd 
rather  not  tackle  it  after  dark." 

It  would  have  been  just  as  well,  however,  had 
they  taken  their  time,  for  after  breakfast  came 
Carlos  with  a  tale  of  cast-off  shoes.  It  was  Paz 
and  Luz,  the  mules  the  senors  were  riding!  And 
having  roundly  cursed  the  memory  of  the  fool 
wife  who  had  been  induced  by  an  apparently 
innocent  colthood  to  bestow  names  of  beauty 
like  Peace  and  Light  upon  such  misbegotten 
devils,  Carlos  further  informed  them: 

22 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Never  were  there  such  ungrateful  brutes, 
senors.  Not  content  with  the  good  barley  I  had 
just  fed  him,  Paz  it  is  that  takes  a  piece  out  of 
Padre  Celso's  arm  one  fine  day  and  so  gets  me 
cursed  with  candle  and  Book.  And  the  curse 
sticks,  senors,  working  itself  out  by  means  of  this 
devil  of  a  light  who,  within  one  week,  chooses  the 
fat  belly  of  the  jefe  of  Tehultepec  as  a  cushion  for 
his  heels.  A  year's  earnings  that  trick  cost  me, 
not  to  mention  the  prettiest  set  of  blue  stripes 
that  ever  warmed  a  cold  back.  Neither  is  there 
a  tree  between  San  Bias  and  the  Arroyo  Grande 
that  they  have  not  used  to  scrape  off  a  load. 
But  this  shall  be  the  end.  They  shall  feel  the 
knife  in  their  throats  at  the  end  of  this  trip." 
In  the  mean  time  would  the  senors  be  pleased  to 
wait  for  an  hour? 

There  being  no  other  choice,  the  senors  would, 
and,  returning  to  their  last  night's  perch  on  the 
balustrade,  they  watched  the  patio  disgorge  its 
dark  life  upon  the  street.  Shining  in  over  the  low- 
tiled  roofs,  the  sunlight  struck  and  was  thrown 
back  by  the  massive  golden  walls  on  the  opposite 
side  in  a  flood  that  set  fire  to  brilliant  serapes,  il 
lumined  silver  buttons,  filled  the  whole  place 
with  light  and  cheer.  Not  to  mention  their  in 
terest  in  the  saddling  and  packing  of  the  loads— 
to  which  some  refractory  mule  contributed  an 
occasional  humorous  touch — a  comedy  was  in 
variably  enacted  between  the  fat  landlord  and  the 
departing  travelers,  for  only  after  an  altercation 

23 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

which  always  required  the  witness  of  all  the 
saints  to  the  reasonableness  of  his  charges  were 
the  gates  swung  open.  With  much  haggling  and 
confusion  of  crackling  oaths  they  went  out,  one 
by  one,  cargadores  and  peons,  beggars  and  pil 
grims,  the  tinkling  mule  trains  with  their 
quaint  freights,  and  not  until  the  last  hoof  struck 
on  the  cobbles  did  Seyd  think  to  look  at  his 
watch. 

"Nine  o'clock.  What  has  become  of  those — " 
Fortunately  they  arrived  at  that  moment  with 
Paz  and  Luz,  the  damned  and  foredoomed,  and 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  thereafter  their  bells  tinkled 
pleasantly  in  the  scrub  oak  and  copal  which  first 
climbed  with  the  trail  up  a  ravine  behind  the 
town  and  then  led  on  through  fields  where  corn 
grew,  by  some  green  miracle  thrusting  stout  green 
stalks  between  the  stones. 

Though  it  was  still  quite  early  in  the  day,  heat 
waves  trembled  all  over  the  land.  The  somnolent 
hum  of  insect  life,  the  whisper  of  a  light  wind  in 
the  corn,  were  alike  conducive  to  sleep.  Before 
they  had  been  riding  an  hour  both  began  to  yawn. 
The  sibilant  hiss  of  the  muleteers  urging  the  mules 
grew  fainter  in  Seyd's  ears,  and,  though  he  was 
conscious  in  a  dim  way  that  the  trail  had  led 
out  from  the  fields  and  was  falling,  falling,  falling 
downhill  through  growths  of  cactus  and  mimosa 
into  the  copal  woods,  he  drowsed  on  till  an  ex 
clamation  from  Billy  aroused  him  to  a  grisly 
sight — the  dozen  and  odd  mummies  whose  with- 

24 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

ered  limbs  clicked  in  the  breeze  as  they  swung  by 
the  neck  from  the  wide  boughs  of  a  banyan. 

"  Bandidos,  senor,  thieves  and  cutthroats." 
The  bigger  of  the  two  muleteers  answered  Seyd's 
question.  "They  were  hanged  by  Don  Se 
bastien." 

"Why,  that's  our  friend  back  at  the  station." 
Billy  commented  on  Seyd's  translation.  "I'm 
sure  that  was  the  name  the  agent  gave  him." 

"Si,  senor,"  the  mule-driver  confirmed  the 
impression.  "And  these  are  but  the  tithe  of 
those  that  he  hanged.  For  years  the  whole  of 
this  country  was  overrun  with  bandidos  who  took 
advantage  of  the  absence  of  the  principal  men  at 
the  wars  to  rob  and  murder  at  will.  They  were 
levying  regular  tolls  on  the  rancheros  and  hacen- 
dados  when  Don  Sebastien  returned  from  his 
schooling.  Though  only  a  lad  of  two  and  twenty, 
he  began  by  hanging  the  bandits'  messenger  in 
the  gates  of  his  hacienda,  an  act  that  all  thought 
would  end  by  the  wiping  of  the  very  memory 
of  the  place  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  But 
instead  of  waiting  to  be  attacked  Don  Sebastien 
took  the  stoutest  of  his  peons  and  went  out  after 
the  thieves.  And  he  kept  after  them  all  that 
winter,  the  following  summer,  into  the  next  year. 
No  trail  was  too  long,  wet,  or  weary  if  he  could 
mark  its  end  with  a  brigand  swinging  under  a 
tree.  Here,  there,  everywhere  within  a  hundred 
miles  of  his  hacienda  of  El  Quiss  he  hanged  them 
by  twos  and  threes  and  left  them  to  swing  in  the 

25 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

wind,  and  it  speaks  for  the  fear  in  which  he  came 
to  be  held  that  no  man,  father,  mother,  sister,  or 
lover  dared  to  cut  one  down.  Scarce  a  cross 
trail  in  this  country  that  lacks  its  warning,  and 
through  his  rigor  it  came  to  pass  that  you,  senors, 
might  now  leave  your  purses  on  the  open  high 
way  where  a  dozen  years  ago  you  would  surely 
have  left  your  lives.  No  man  would  dare  touch — " 

" — Except  Don  Sebastien,"  Seyd  put  in,  laugh 
ing. 

But  the  man  returned  only  a  stare.  "What 
use  would  he  have  of  purses,  senor,  that  has  so 
many  of  his  own?" 

"Perhaps  to  give  to  the  Church."  But  he 
stopped  laughing,  surprised  by  the  sudden  cloud 
that  spread  on  the  man's  face. 

"Never!  Though  he  has  a  church  on  his  own 
hacienda,  Don  Sebastien  never  crosses  its  thresh 
old.  And  Mattias,  here,  can  tell  you  of  the  talk 
he  gives  to  the  priest." 

"Si!  si!"  In  his  eagerness  to  share  the  lime 
light  the  fellow  almost  shook  off  his  head.  "It 
is,  see  you,  that  I  am  delivering  a  mule  load 
of  charcoal  at  El  Quiss  on  the  very  day  that 
Don  Sebastien  hires  the  priest.  You  are  to  see 
him,  as  I  did,  sitting  on  the  gallery  above  the 
courtyard  puffing  his  cigar  in  such  wise — was 
there  ever  such  irreverence! — that  the  smoke 
rises  in  the  face  of  the  padre  who  stands  before 
him.  And  his  voice  comes  ringing  down  to  where 
Miguel,  the  steward,  is  trying  to  beat  me  down  a 

26 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

peso  on  the  price  of  the  charcoal.  '  I  have  builded 
you  a  church,  and  for  performing  the  offices  I 
shall  pay  you  one  hundred  silver  pesos  the  month, 
for,  though  I  did  not  feel,  myself,  any  need  of 
your  mutterings,  they  serve  to  keep  my  people 
quiet.  Over  them  you  shall  exercise  the  usual 
authorities,  and  you  may  come  and  go  at  will 
through  the  hacienda — all  but  one  place.  If 
after  this  hour  I  find  that  your  foot  has  touched 
my  threshold  I'll  hang  you  in  its  gates.'  Thus 
he  spoke,  senor,  and  he  would  have  done  it — to  a 
priest  quicker  than  a  bandit,  for  of  the  two  it  is 
hard  to  tell  that  which  he  hates  the  most." 

"Hum!"  Billy  coughed  when  Seyd  had  trans 
lated.  Jerking  his  thumb  at  the  grisly  witnesses 
to  the  tale's  truth,  he  commented :  "  I  now  begin 
to  understand  the  general  respect  for  our  friend. 
A  man  who  does  things  like  that  is  entitled  to 
some  consideration.  Let  us  be  thankful  for 
pump  guns  and  automatics.  If  this  had  been  the 
day  of  the  old  muzzle-loader  I'm  darned  if  I'd 
have  tackled  your  hunch." 

In  the  next  hour  the  red-tiled  colored  adobe 
hamlets  of  the  small  farmers  began  to  give  place 
to  the  jacals  of  the  country,  flimsy  huts  with  sides 
of  cane  stalks  and  grass  -  thatched.  Then  the 
trail  passed  out  from  the  eternal  succession  of 
corn  and  maguey  fields  into  wastes  of  volcanic 
scoria,  where  it  began  presently  to  climb  moun 
tains,  for  no  apparent  reason  except  to  fall 
dizzily  into  shallow  valleys  which  were  sparsely 

x  27 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

timbered  with  copal  and  other  soft  woods.  In 
one  valley  they  came  upon  an  Aztec  ruin.  A 
huge  parallelogram  in  shape,  it  was  more  than 
half  buried  and  so  overgrown  with  brush  and 
creepers  that  they  would  have  passed  without 
notice  if  the  trail  had  not  happened  to  run  along 
the  face  of  one  wall.  Looking  closely,  Seyd  first 
observed  a  monstrous  squat  figure  in  bas-relief, 
one  of  dozens  which  were  interwoven  into  an  in 
tricate  design;  then,  riding  along,  he  saw  fright 
fully  distorted  faces  peering  out  from  behind  a 
green  veil  of  creepers.  Broad  and  fat,  long  and 
thin,  some  were  stretched  in  a  wide  grin,  others 
thrust  out  tongues  in  ribald  mockery.  Here  the 
eyes  of  one  were  distorted  in  a  painful  squint. 
There  a  slant  upturn  of  tight-drawn  lids  revealed 
the  quintessence  of  priestly  cruelty.  Another 
was  grossly  lewd.  Through  anger,  violence,  lust, 
fear,  the  expressions  ran  the  gamut  of  passion 
to  its  death  in  the  cold  face  of  the  god  whose 
enormous  image  formed  the  corner.  The  oblong 
ears,  triangular  eyes  and  nose,  parallel  lips,  were 
such  as  a  child  loves  to  draw  on  a  slate,  yet  on 
that  enormous  scale  their  mathematical  lines 
somehow  conveyed  an  impression  of  absolute 
force.  The  Sphynx-like  calm  of  the  face  stirred 
Seyd's  imagination  with  pictures  of  captives  led 
to  the  Aztec  altars.  Even  practical  Billy  was 
moved  to  remark: 

"Those  old  chaps  couldn't  have  been  very  nice 
neighbors." 

28 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"No;  and  they  are  the  lineal  ancestors  of  the 
neighbors  we  shall  have  presently."  Later  the 
thought  was  to  recur  under  conditions  that  would 
lend  it  enormous  force.  He  forgot  it  in  the 
moment  of  utterance,  saying,  as  he  glanced  at 
his  watch:  "We  have  been  doing  pretty  well. 
At  this  rate  we'll  make  the  Barranca  quite 
early." 

He  had  failed  to  allow,  however,  for  the  demon 
which,  usually  content  with  the  complete  pos 
session  of  Paz  and  Luz,  suddenly  entered  into 
the  burros  and  sent  them  flying  downhill  through 
a  grove  of  trees.  Entering  on  one  side  fully 
loaded,  they  emerged  at  the  other  naked,  and  by 
the  time  they  were  rounded  up  and  reloaded  Seyd 
had  to  recast  his  schedule. 

"  We'll  be  lucky  if  we  make  it  now  in  daylight. 
We  may  have  to  camp  at  the  top." 

Repeated  in  Spanish,  the  latter  suggestion 
drew  vigorous  headshakes  from  both  muleteers. 
Carlos  made  answer.  "No,  senor,  at  this  time  of 
the  year  one  would  perish  of  the  cold,  and  there 
is  an  inn  in  the  Barranca  with  the  finest  of 
accommodations.  The  trail?  It  is  nothing! 
A  peso  for  every  time  I  have  traveled  it  by  night 
would  buy  me  a  rancho — and  Paz  and  Luz,  devils 
as  they  are,  could  travel  it  blindfold."  And 
whether,  as  Billy  suggested,  they  were  afraid  of 
missing  their  usual  communion  with  the  fleas  in 
the  inn  stables,  both  he  and  Mattias  began  to 
hustle  the  mules  with  oaths,  hissings,  whip- 

29 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

crackings.  They  kept  after  them  so  hard  that 
the  train  trotted  out  of  a  forest  of  upland  pinon 
upon  the  rim  of  a  great  valley  a  full  half  hour 
before  sundown. 

Though  prepared  by  Seyd's  descriptions  for 
something  unusually  fine,  Billy's  blue  eyes  opened 
to  the  limit,  and  he  sat  silent  upon  his  mule,  star 
ing,  altogether  bereft  of  his  usual  loquacity. 
From  their  feet  the  land  broke  suddenly  and 
fell  into  purple  depths  from  which  dark  hills 
uplifted  ruddy  peaks  into  the  blaze  of  the  setting 
sun.  The  Barranca  was  so  deep,  so  vast  in  scale, 
that  he  grew  dizzy  in  following  with  his  eye  the 
tiny  zigzag  of  the  trail  down,  down,  till  it  was  lost 
in  blue  haze  through  which  even  the  giant  ceibas 
and  tall  cedars  showed  like  microscopic  plants. 
Across  the  valley,  miles  away,  naked  mountains 
tossed  and  tumbled,  seamed,  scarred,  gashed 
by  slide  and  quake,  sterile  and  desolate,  as  on  the 
far  day  that  some  world  convulsion  raised  them 
out  of  the  sea. 

"Drunk!  drunk!"  Billy  breathed,  at  last. 
"Nature  gone  on  a  jag.  Drunken  mountains 
loose  in  a  crazy  world.  The  whole  earth  is 
turned  on  edge.  Hold  me,  Bob,  before  I  fall  in. 
How  deep  do  you  call  this  bit  of  a  hole?" 

"About  five  thousand  feet  down  to  the  floor. 
It  falls  off  a  thousand  and  more  in  a  few  miles  to 
the  coast.  You  see,  we  are  still  in  touch  with 
the  old  Pacific.  Can't  be  more  than  thirty  miles 
or  so  down  to  the  sea." 

30 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"The  dear  old  pond.  Isn't  that  pine  on  the 
other  side?" 

"Sure.  An  American  company  is  taking  out 
millions  of  feet,  a  hundred  or  so  miles  farther  up. 
That's  a  great  old  tree,  and  quite  particular  about 
the  company  it  keeps.  Look  how  sharply  it 
draws  the  line  along  the  slope,  lifting  its  skirts 
from  the  contamination  of  the  tropics.  That 
spark  of  green  in  the  far  distance  is  sugar  cane — 
two  thousand  acres  of  it  on  the  General's  hacienda 
of  San  Nicolas.  And  you  see  the  gash  over  there, 
all  yellow  and  green,  about  three  thousand  feet 
down  from  the  top — that  is  us,  senor,  the  mina 
Santa  Gertrudis.  And  that  reminds  me — we'll 
have  to  be  moving  if  we  are  to  make  the  inn  before 
midnight.  Vaminos,  Carlos." 

But  the  muleteer  shook  his  head.  "After  you, 
seiior,  for  if  these  devils  should  take  to  running 
again,  not  in  six  months  should  we  fish  your 
baggage  out  of  the  canons." 

Leading  down  the  trail,  which  zigzagged  along 
the  faces  of  a  V-shaped  wall,  Seyd  perceived,  as 
he  thought,  the  soundness  of  the  argument,  for 
at  the  first  turn  a  stone  from  his  mule's  foot 
dropped  five  hundred  feet  plumb  before  rebound 
ing  into  greater  depths,  and  at  no  place  did  the 
width  of  the  path  allow  an  unnecessary  inch  for 
the  swing  of  the  packs.  Deceived  by  the  succes 
sion  of  stairways  through  which  the  trail  dropped 
down  to  the  thin  thread  that  marked  its  course 
along  the  bottoms,  Billy  objected: 

31 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Three  hours,  you  say?  Looks  to  me  as 
though  we  could  make  it  in  one." 

"Less  than  that — if  your  mule  should  happen 
to  slip  and  take  it  sideways.  Let  me  see — 
allowing  a  thousand  feet  to  a  bump,  about  four 
teen  seconds  ought  to  distribute  you  nicely 
among  the  bottom  trees.  But  if  you  elect  to 
follow  me  around  the  eight  or  nine  miles  of  trail 
you  cannot  see,  it  will  take  the  full  three  hours." 

Even  while  he  was  speaking  the  ruddy  fires 
on  the  valley  hills  were  suddenly  extinguished, 
only  the  stark  peaks  on  the  other  side  lifted  like 
yellow  torches  in  the  last  blaze.  One  by  one 
these  also  went  out,  and  another  hour  found 
them  journeying  in  gloom  that  was  intensified 
rather  than  lightened  by  the  section  of  moon 
which  achieved  a  precarious  balance  on  the  rim 
above.  In  darkness  and  silence  that  was  broken 
only  by  the  scrape  of  hoofs  and  rattle  of  displaced 
stones  they  followed  down  and  down  and  down, 
until  Billy  presently  came  under  a  singular 
hallucination.  Repeatedly  he  put  out  his  hand 
to  repel  the  rock  wall  that  seemed  to  be  animated 
with  a  desire  to  crowd  him  off  into  the  canon, 
and  because  of  this  pardonable  nervousness  he 
endured  a  real  trial  that  would  have  drawn  a 
quick  protest  from  Seyd — to  wit,  the  senseless 
way  in  which  the  muleteers  were  driving  their 
beasts  on  his  heels.  Twice  he  rapped  a  rough 
nose  that  tried  to  force  its  way  in  between  him 
and  the  wall,  and  he  breathed  more  easily  when 

32 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

an  easier  grade  permitted  them  to  draw  ahead 
011  a  gentle  trot. 

Accustomed,  on  his  part,  to  leave  all  to  his 
beast,  Seyd  rode  with  a  loose  bridle,  lost  in 
thought,  his  mind  busy  with  mining  plans.  And 
thus  it  was  that  when  Paz  suddenly  stopped, 
snorting,  at  the  end  of  a  trot  which  had  carried 
them  well  ahead  of  the  train  around  a  rock  wall, 
he  almost  went  over  her  head.  Recovering 
quickly,  he  was  about  to  drive  in  the  spurs;  and 
a  man  of  slower  intuitions  would  surely  have 
done  it.  With  him,  however,  action  invariably 
preceded  thought,  from  instincts  almost  as  acute 
as  those  which  had  brought  the  mule  to  a  stop. 
Dismounting,  he  stepped  ahead.  Then,  to  the 
horror  of  Billy,  who  heard  the  burros  slipping 
and  sliding  as  they  came  round  the  wall  on  a  trot, 
his  voice  came  back.  ,g 

"  Hold  on,  there !  A  slide  has  carried  away  the 
trail!" 


CHAPTER  IV 

ALTHOUGH  he  had  always  doubted  the 
AJL  phenomenon,  Billy's  hair  stood  on  end,  and 
when,  in  the  face  of  Seyd's  shouts  in  Spanish  to 
stop,  the  burros  still  came  on  he  felt  his  cap  move. 

"Billy!"  Seyd's  command  rang  out  sharply. 
"Dismount  and  lie  down.  It's  our  only  chance." 

In  that  tense  moment,  however,  Mr.  William 
Thornton,  assay er  and  metallurgist,  had  done  an 
amount  of  thinking  that  would  have  required 
many  minutes  of  his  leisure.  He  was  already  on 
the  ground,  and  as  he  lay  there,  arms  wrapped 
over  the  back  of  his  head  as  a  protection  against 
the  sharp  hoofs  that  would  presently  grind  his 
face  in  the  dust,  uncomfortable  expectation  gave 
birth  to  inspiration.  As  Seyd  also  braced  him 
self  for  the  shock  there  came  the  scratch  of  a 
match,  and  Billy's  red  head  flashed  out  in  relief 
against  the  belly  of  the  leading  burro  as  it  up- 
reared  in  fright  at  the  blaze.  In  the  same  mo 
ment  a  second  blunt  head  shoved  itself  like  a 
wedge  between  the  first  burro  and  the  wall,  and 
as  the  gray  body  shot  off  sideways  into  the  chasm 
Seyd  saw  first  the  others  sliding  in  a  desperate 
effort  to  stop,  and  behind  them  the  mule  whips 

34 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

swinging  to  drive  them  on.'  As  under  a  flash- 
I'ght  it  all  flamed  out  and  vanished. 

In  the  short  time  required  for  Billy  to  strike  a 
second  match  Seyd's  mind  registered  an  astonish 
ing  number  of  impressions.  A  hoarse  yell,  a 
sudden  scurry  of  departing  hoofs,  and  Billy's 
hysterical  profanity  formed  merely  the  back 
ground  of  a  sequence  that  flashed  back  over  the 
events  of  the  day.  The  scraps  of  muleteers'  talk 
the  night  before,  the  runaway,  and  other  minor 
delays,  the  drivers'  refusal  to  camp  on  the  rim, 
their  insistence  that  he  and  Billy  should  take  the 
lead,  all  fused  in  a  belief  which  he  expressed  as 
the  second  match  flaring  up  showed  the  trail 
empty  of  life  between  themselves  and  the  next 
turn. 

"It's  a  frame-up!  They  knew  of  the  slide. 
They  had  it  fixed  to  run  us  off  in  the  dark." 

"But  where  are  they  now?"  Billy  gazed  down 
into  the  dark  void.  "Surely  they  didn't  all  go 


over." 


"No  such  luck.  The  burros  bolted  back  on 
them,  and  they  just  legged  it  out  of  the  way. 
Listen !"  A  scurry  of  hoofs  sounded  on  the  level 
above.  "There  they  go,  and  it's  up  to  us  to 
keep  them  going.  Back  your  mule  up  and  turn. 
If  we  don't  give  them  the  run  of  their  lives  we'll 
deserve  all  they  tried  to  give  us." 

And  run  they  did.  Overtaking  the  burros  just 
as  they  began  to  slow  down,  Seyd  slipped  ahead, 
struck  a  match  close  to  the  tail  of  the  last,  and 

35 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

so  precipitated  the  cavalcade  once  more  upon 
the  sweating  drivers.  Whereafter,  they  took 
turns  and  kept  the  frightened  beasts  on  a  breath 
less  trot  up  the  heartbreaking  grades.  Under 
the  flare  of  a  match  they  sometimes  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  muleteers  shuffling  ahead  on  a  tired 
run.  Occasionally  their  sobbing  breath  rose  over 
the  scrape  of  the  hoofs.  But  first  one  riding,  then 
the  other,  they  hustled  them  on  without  mercy 
till  the  train  opened  at  last  upon  the  plateau 
above. 

"Now,  then !  Run  them  down !"  Seyd  shouted ; 
but  as  he  swung  his  mule  out  to  go  by  the  burros 
he  almost  ran  into  a  horseman  who  had  just 
reined  his  beast  to  one  side  of  the  trail. 

"It  is  you,  senor?" 

Here  on  the  top  the  light  of  the  stars  helped 
out  the  weak  moon,  and,  though  the  man's  face 
was  in  shadow,  Seyd  recognized  the  upright, 
graceful  figure.  "  Come  to  see  if  the  job  is  done." 
He  thought  it  while  answering  aloud,  "As  you 
perceive,  senor." 

"Not  until  long  after  you  left  did  I  hear  of  the 
break  in  the  trail,  and  I  have  ridden  hard — used 
up  one  horse  and  half  killed  this  poor  beast. 
But  no  matter  so  long  as  I  am  in  time." 

"Hypocrite!"  Seyd  thought  again.  A  little 
nonplussed,  however,  by  the  tone  of  assurance, 
he  gave  his  thought  lighter  expression.  "You 
would  not  have  been  if  these  fellows  had  had 
their  way." 

36 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Caramba,  senor!     Why?" 

If  his  surprise  were  assumed  it  was  certainly 
remarkably  well  done.  While  Seyd  was  telling 
of  their  narrow  escape  he  sat  his  horse,  silent  but 
attentive.  With  the  last  word  he  burst  into  a 
fury  of  action.  Uttering  a  Spanish  oath,  he 
drove  in  the  spurs  and  rode  his  rearing  horse 
straight  at  the  mule-drivers,  who  had  turned  on 
Billy  with  drawn  knives,  lashing  them  with  his 
heavy  quirt  over  face,  head,  shoulders.  Five 
minutes  later  his  whip  was  still  cutting  the  air 
with  a  shrill  whistle,  and,  richly  as  the  fellows 
deserved  it,  Seyd  and  Billy  shuddered  at  the 
pitiless  flogging.  Strangest  to  them  of  all,  the 
men  endured  this  without  attempt  at  flight  or 
resistance.  They  stood,  their  arms  shielding 
their  faces,  whimpering  like  beaten  hounds. 

It  was  their  abject  submissiveness  that  in 
jected  a  touch  of  doubt  into  Billy's  comment. 
"It  looks,  after  all,  as  though  they  had  done  it 
themselves." 

Seyd  shrugged.  "Perhaps;  in  any  case  we 
have  no  proof." 

"Now,  blind  swine,  that  will  serve  for  a 
while!"  Sebastien's  cold  voice  broke  in.  "Off 
with  you  and  build  a  fire,  then  stake  out  the 
mules."  Seyd's  suspicion  gave  a  little  more 
before  his  quiet  assurance.  "You  will  have  to 
stay  here  till  morning,  senors,  for  it  is  many  miles 
along  the  rim  to  the  other  trail.  Unfortunately, 
it  was  your  supply  mule  that  went  into  the 

37 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

canon,  so  you  must  needs  go  hungry.  However, 
we  have  a  proverb,  'A  warm  fire  helps  the  empty 
belly,'  and  to-morrow  you  will  be  able  to  recover 
your  goods." 

Neither  did  his  expression,  as  presently  re 
vealed  by  the  fire,  offer  evidence  for  doubt.  As 
he  stood  looking  down  at  the  blaze  Seyd  was 
vividly  reminded  of  the  Aztec  god,  for  its  cold 
stone  face  was  not  more  inscrutable  than  this 
quiet  brown  mask.  Its  inscrutability  provoked 
him  to  ask  a  sudden  question. 

"Did  I  not  see  you  at  the  hotel  last  night?" 

But  the  sudden  challenge  produced  only  an 
indifferent  shrug.  "Perhaps.  I  was  there." 

He  did  look  up  at  Billy's  vigorous  comment  on 
his  answer  as  translated  by  Seyd:  "Then  why 
didn't  he  show  himself  this  morning?  Goodness 
knows  we  left  late  enough." 

He  even  asked,  "What  does  he  say?"  And 
the  sense  having  been  softened  in  translation  to 
an  expression  of  mild  wonder  at  his  non-appear 
ance,  he  quietly  replied,  "  I  do  not  doubt  that  the 
senor's  departure  was  fraught  with  enormous 
significance  for  the  country  at  large,  but  not  be 
ing  informed  of  it,  there  was  no  reason  for  me  to 
cut  my  sleep." 

Though  the  smile  which  marked  his  apprecia 
tion  of  the  blush  that  drowned  out  Billy's  freckles 
when  Seyd  translated  was  so  slight  as  to  be  almost 
imperceptible,  it  yet  increased  his  anger.  "The 
dago!"  he  growled.  "I'd  punch  his  head  for  five 

38 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

cents  Mex.  The  gall  of  him!  Standing  there 
poking  fun  at  us  after  we  have  just  missed  death 
at  the  hands  of  his  brigands.  And  you  really 
think  that  he  planned  it  all?" 

"Looks  like  it.  He  chose  the  men,  the  trail. 
Was  seen  last  night  at  the  hotel.  Appears  now 
at  the  psychological  moment.  Any  jury  would — ' ' 

" — Pronounce  me  guilty.  They  would  be 
mistaken,  sir." 

Utterly  confounded  at  the  interruption  which 
was  delivered  in  fluent  English — so  surprised, 
indeed,  that  Billy  glanced  around  to  make  sure 
that  nobody  else  had  spoken — they  stared  at  him 
across  the  fire  in  red  confusion.  When  Seyd  at 
last  found  his  tongue  he  could  only  stammer  the 
obvious  question,  "You  speak  English?" 

"As  you  perceive,  sir."  As  he  returned  Seyd 
his  phrase  of  a  few  minutes  before  not  even  a 
twinkle  betrayed  his  knowledge  of  their  ridiculous 
situation. 

Nor  was  one  needed  to  increase  Billy's  anger. 
"Then  why  don't  you  speak  it?"  he  roughly 
blurted. 

Ignoring  the  question,  the  man  went  on  address 
ing  Seyd.  "In  accordance  with  the  foolish  cus 
tom  that  aims  to  make  poor  foreigners  out  of 
good  Mexicans  I  received  my  education  at  a 
boarding-school  in  the  city  of  Manchester, 
England." 

Manchester,  England!  Center  of  the  Lan 
cashire  cotton  trade,  inner  shrine  of  commerce! 

39 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Commercial  essence  exuded  from  the  very  name; 
it  smelled  to  heaven  of  tin  and  rosin.  Imagina 
tion  faltered,  nay,  refused  even  to  attempt  to 
establish  a  relation  between  its  prosiness  and 
this  romantic  figure  with  a  face  cast  in  the  image 
of  the  stone  gods!  Above  all,  a  Manchester 
boarding-school!  Seyd  almost  gasped.  For  to 
his  knowledge  of  "fags"  and  "bullies,"  "form 
rows,"  "cribs  and  crams,"  and  education  by  ex 
ternal  application,  gained  by  the  perusal  of  Tom 
Brown's  School  Days,  he  had  added  the  later, 
savagely  impish  realism  of  Kipling's  Stalky. 

And  he  knew  what  a  living  hell  the  life  must 
have  been  to  a  high-strung  Mexican  youth. 
"  Well !"  he  breathed  at  last.  "  I  don't  envy  you 
the  experience.  I'm  told  that  the  English  school 
boy  isn't  particularly  sensitive  or  nice  in  his — 
his  treatment  of — " 

" — Half-castes.  Don't  avoid  the  word.  We 
Mexicans  are  proud  of  our  Aztec  blood.  They 
did  not  love  me,  but  I  tell  you,  senor,  that  their 
dislike  for  me  was  as  milk  to  fire  compared  with 
mine  for  them,  and  they  left  me  alone  after  a 
couple  had  felt  my  knife.  How  I  hated  them — 
the  conceited  lackeys  of  masters  as  much  as  the 
bullocks  of  boys  and  their  ox-like  fathers.  How 
they  lectured  me,  the  lackeys,  for  my  'cowardice' 
in  using  a  knife — the  cowardice  of  one  small  boy 
pitted  against  a  hundred  impish  devils.  But 
they  were  never  able  to  blind  me  with  their 
fustian  ideals.  Even  then  I  could  see  through 

40 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

their  sham  morality,  hypocritical  humanity,  in 
sufferable  conceit. 

"'England  is  the  workshop  of  the  world!' 
They  dinned  it  into  us.  In  furtherance  of  the 
ideal  they  fouled  the  air  with  coal  smoke,  herded 
their  men  and  women  from  the  open  farms  into 
slums  and  brothels,  and  as  they  have  done  by 
their  own  so  would  they  like  to  do  for  the  world 
— make  it  one  huge  factory  set  in  a  slum."  He 
had  spoken  all  through  with  great  heat.  Glanc 
ing  for  the  first  time  at  Billy,  he  finished,  more 
quietly,  "That  is  why  I  do  not  speak  English — 
because  I  hate  both  them  and  their  tongue." 

Now  Billy's  conception  of  John  Bull  and  his 
island  had  been  principally  formed  on  the  per- 
fervid  "tail-twisting"  of  the  common-school  his 
tories,  and  Seyd,  whose  views  had  been  corrected 
by  wider  reading,  had  to  smile  at  his  emphatic 
indorsement.  "I'm  with  you.  No  English, 
please,  in  mine." 

Even  Sebastien  smiled.  "No,  you  are  Amer 
ican — from  our  viewpoint,  much  worse.  Just 
as  sordid  as  the  stupid  English,  you  are  quicker- 
witted,  therefore  more  to  be  feared,  and  you 
stand  forever  at  our  gates,  ready  to  force  your 
commerce  and  ideas  upon  us.  But  much  as  we 
hate  you,  loath  as  we  are  to  have  you  come  among 
us,  I  would  still  have  you  to  believe  that  this 
business  was  accidental.  I,  at  least,  did  not  plan 
your  death." 

"Then  you  do  not  speak  for  them?"     Seyd 

41 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

glanced  at  the  muleteers,  now  crouching  over  a 
second  small  fire  they  had  built  for  themselves. 

"Quien  sabe?"  Sebastien  shrugged  his  shoul 
ders.  " They  would  think  little  of  it.  But  what 
can  you  do?  You  have  no  proof.  And  I  will 
see  to  it  that  they  play  you  no  more  tricks." 

Walking  over,  he  kicked  first  one,  then  the 
other,  in  the  small  of  the  back.  "Up,  swine!" 
And  while  they  stood  shivering  before  them  he 
gave  them  their  orders — first  to  recover  the  bag 
gage,  then  to  convey  the  senors  in  safety  to  their 
mine.  "Fail  me  in  one  thing,"  he  concluded, 
with  a  frightful  threat,  "and  I  will  pluck  out  your 
eyes  and  turn  you  out  on  the  road." 

Turning  his  back  on  them,  he  walked  over  to 
the  horses,  and  had  mounted  before  Seyd  realized 
his  intent.  "You  are  not  going?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  it  is  only  five  leagues  back  to  the 
hacienda  where  I  left  my  own  horse." 

"First  let  me  thank  you." 

Not  seeing  the  touch  of  the  spur  that  had  caused 
the  beast  to  rear  suddenly,  he  imagined  it  shied  at 
his  outstretched  hand.  While  curbing  its  plung- 
ings  the  other  answered:  "It  is  nothing.  You  owe 
me  nothing.  I  came  to  repair  a  mistake  and  arrived 
too  late.  Adios!"  And  swinging  the  fighting 
beast  out  of  the  firelight  into  the  dusk  he  galloped 
off,  leaving  Seyd  standing  with  hand  outstretched. 

Returning  to  the  fire,  he  passed  close  to  the 
muleteers,  whose  faces,  looking  after  him,  ex 
pressed  a  curious  mixture  of  dislike,  suspicion, 

42 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

fear.  Observing  it,  Billy  laughed.  "  Our  friend's 
football  practice  over  there  rather  inclines  me  to 
favor  his  theories.  I've  seen  a  few  walking- 
delegates  in  my  time  that  I'd  like  to  place  under 
him.  I'll  bet  you  there  are  no  labor  troubles  in 
his  cosmos.  Fancy  a  system  that  trains  men  to 
put  your  enemies  away  without  so  much  as  a 
wink.  I  call  it  ideal." 

"Yes."  Seyd  laughed.  "I  have  so  much 
respect  for  it  that  I  propose  to  keep  watch  and 
watch  on  the  off  chance  of  an  attempt  on  our 
throats.  If  you'll  just  settle  down  for  a  snooze 
I'll  take  the  first  trick." 

His  laughter,  however,  covered  feeling  that  had 
been  deeply  stirred  by  the  events  of  the  day. 
After  Billy  had  curled  up  close  to  the  fire  his 
glance  went  over  to  the  muleteers,  who  lay,  heads 
muffled  in  their  scarlet  serapes,  beside  their  own 
fire.  Their  very  quiet  stimulated  thoughts 
which  passed  back  through  the  medievalism  of 
the  "conquest"  and  the  savagery  of  the  Aztecs 
to  the  dim  time  that  saw  the  erection  of  the 
temple  they  had  passed  that  day.  Stimulated 
by  the  distant  roar  of  waters,  the  complaint  of  the 
wind  in  the  trees,  and  the  voices  of  night  that 
rose  out  of  the  valley's  black  void,  his  fancies 
grew  and  possessed  him  until  he  saw  his  own 
civilization  as  a  flash  in  the  dark  space  of  the 
ages.  So  absorbed  was  he  that  Billy's  interrup 
tion  came  as  a  surprise. 

"I've  slept  four  hours.    Time  for  your  snooze." 

4  43 


CHAPTER  V 

»HE-EW!"  Looking  up  from  a  treatise  on 
bricklaying  as  applied  to  the  building  of 
furnaces,  Billy  pitched  a  stone  at  Seyd,  who  was 
experimenting  with  a  batch  of  lime  fresh  drawn 
from  a  kiln  of  their  own  burning.  "I'd  always 
imagined  bricklaying  to  be  a  mere  matter  of 
plumb  and  trowel,  but  this  darned  craft  has  more 
crinkles  to  it  than  the  differential  calculus.  This 
fellow  makes  me  dizzy  with  his  talk  of  ties  and 
courses,  flues,  draughts,  cornering,  slopes,  and 
arches." 

Leaning  on  his  hoe,  Seyd  wiped  his  wet  brow. 
"I'm  finding  out  a  few  things  myself.  I'd  always 
sort  of  envied  a  hod-carrier.  But  now  I  know 
that  the  humble  'mort'  puts  more  foot-pounds  of 
energy  into  his  work  than  the  average  horse.  As 
a  remedy  for  dizziness  caused  by  overstudy,  mix 
ing  mortar  has  no  equal.  Come  and  spell  me 
with  this  hoe." 

"And  the  last  state  of  that  man  was  worse 
than  the  first,' "  Billy  groaned.  "  Can't  we  hire  a 
single  solitary  peon,  Seyd?" 

More  eloquently  than  words,  Seyd's  shrug  tes 
tified  to  the  sullen  boycott  which  had  been  main- 

44 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

tained  against  them  for  the  past  three  weeks. 
On  the  morning  of  their  arrival  at  the  mine, 
while  the  fear  of  Sebastien  Rocha  still  lay  heavy 
upon  him,  Carlos  had  been  half  bullied,  half 
persuaded  into  the  sale  of  Paz  and  Luz  at  a  price 
which  raised  him  almost  to  the  status  of  a 
ranchero.  But  that  single  transaction  summed 
up  their  dealings  with  the  natives.  No  man  had 
answered  their  call  for  laborers  at  wages  which 
must  have  appeared  as  wealth  to  a  peon.  The 
charcoal-burners  who  drove  their  burros  past  the 
mine  every  day  returned  to  their  greetings  either 
muttered  curses  or  black  stares.  They  were  as 
stubborn  in  their  cold  obstinacy  as  the  face  of 
the  temple  god.  Indeed,  in  these  days  the  stony 
face  of  the  image  had  become  inseparably  asso 
ciated  in  Seyd's  mind  with  the  determined  oppo 
sition  that  had  routed  his  predecessors  and  now 
aimed  to  oust  him.  He  saw  it  even  in  the  soft, 
round  faces  of  the  children  who  peeped  at  him 
from  the  doorways  of  cane  huts,  a  somber  look, 
centuries  old  in  its  stubborn  dullness. 

Not  that  he  and  Billy  were  in  the  least  dis 
couraged.  Once  convinced  that  labor  was  not  to 
be  obtained,  they  had  stripped  and  pitched  in. 
In  one  month  they  rebuilt  the  adobe  dwelling 
which  had  been  somewhat  shattered  by  the  Dutch 
man's  hurried  exit,  dug  a  lime  kiln,  and  hauled 
the  wood  and  stone  for  the  first  burning.  They 
had  completed  the  laying  out  of  the  smelter 
foundation,  filling  in  odd  moments  by  picking 

45 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

for  the  first  charge  the  choicest  ore  from  the  hun 
dreds  of  tons  that  the  Englishmen  had  unwisely 
mined  before  they  ran  head-on  into  the  hostile 
combination  of  freights  and  prices. 

This  last  had  been  an  inspiriting  labor,  for  so 
rich  were  the  values  which  the  ore  carried  that 
after  a  trial  assay  Billy  had  danced  all  over  the 
place  beating  an  old  pan.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
young  men  ever  had  better  prospects;  and  so, 
knowing  that  Billy's  present  pessimism  arose 
from  a  strong  disinclination  for  physical  labor 
in  the  hot  sun,  Seyd  merely  grinned.  Sitting 
down  on  a  pile  of  brick,  he  mopped  his  face  and 
stared  out  over  the  valley. 

Situated,  as  the  mine  was,  on  a  wide  bench 
which  gave  pause  to  the  earth's  dizzy  plunge  from 
the  rim  three  thousand  feet  above,  Seyd  sat  at 
the  meeting-place  of  temperate  and  tropic  zones. 
A  hundred  feet  below — just  where  they  had 
climbed  the  stiff  trail  out  of  the  jungle  that 
flooded  the  valley  with  its  fecund  life — a  group 
of  cocoanut  palms  stood  disputing  the  downward 
rush  of  the  pine,  and  all  along  the  bench  pinon 
and  copal,  upland  growths,  shouldered  cedars  and 
ceibas,  the  tropical  giants.  While  these  battled 
above  for  light  and  room  there  came,  writhing 
snake-like  up  from  the  tropics,  creepers  and 
climbers,  vines  and  twining  plants,  to  engage 
the  ferns  and  bracken,  the  pine's  green  allies. 
A  plague  of  orchids  here  attacked  the  copal, 
wreathing  trunk  and  limb  in  sickly  flame.  The 

46 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

bracken  there  overswept  the  riotous  tropical  life. 
All  along  the  borderland  the  battle  raged,  here 
following  a  charge  of  the  pine  down  a  cool  ravine, 
there  mounting  with  the  tropic  growths  to  a  sun 
lit  slope.  But  in  the  valley  below  the  tropics 
ruled  clear  down  to  the  brilliant  green  of  the 
San  Nicolas  cane  fields. 

"By  the  way" — Seyd  spoke  as  his  eye  fell  on 
these — "Don  Luis  is  back  from  Mexico  City. 
The  hunchbacked  charcoal-burner  told  me  as  he 
went  past  this  morning." 

"The  deuce  he  did!"  Of  all  the  black  looks 
that  came  their  way  that  of  the  cripple  was  the 
most  vindictive.  "You  must  have  him  hyp 
notized." 

"You  wouldn't  think  so  if  you  had  heard  his 
accent.  'El  General  is  again  at  San  Nicolas,' 
just  as  though  he  were  sentencing  me  to  hang. 
Nevertheless,  the  news  comes  pat.  I  think  it 
would  be  good  policy  for  me  to  run  down  and  pay 
the  denunciation  taxes  before  we  begin  work  on 
the  smelter.  No,  I  don't  apprehend  any  trouble. 
Your  Mexican  hasn't  much  stomach  for  litigation, 
and  no  doubt  the  old  fellow  feels  quite  safe  in  his 
pull  with  the  metals  companies  and  railroads. 
But  while  he  is  still  in  the  mind  we  had  better  pay 
the  money  and  complete  title.  If  he  once  gets 
wind  of  the  smelter — " 

"Just  so."  Billy  threw  down  the  hoe.  " While 
you  dress  I'll  saddle  up  a  mule — if  you  will  please 
say  to  which  demon  you  prefer  to  intrust  your 

47 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

precious  neck.  Light  began  the  day  by  kicking 
me  through  the  side  of  the  stable.  She  needs 
chastening.  But  then  Peace  dined  on  my  arm 
yesterday.  It's  Peace  for  yours,  and  I  only  hope 
you  get  it." 

"Hum!"  he  coughed  when,  half  an  hour  later, 
Seyd  emerged  shaved,  bathed,  and  clad  in  immac 
ulate  white.  "Is  this  magnificence  altogether 
for  el  General,  or  did  Caliban  drop  some  word  of 
our  niece?  Really,  old  chap,  you  look  fine.  If 
I  were  the  senorita  I'd  go  for  you  myself." 

Though  Seyd  laughed,  yet  the  instant  he 
passed  out  of  sight  he  fell  into  frowning  thought 
which  was  evidently  related  to  the  letter  he 
pulled  out  and  reread  while  he  rode  down  the 
steep  grades.  Written  in>  a  characterless  round 
hand,  it  covered  so  many  pages  that  he  was  half 
way  down  before,  after,  tearing  it  in  shreds,  he 
tossed  it  to  the  winds.  Its  destruction,  however, 
did  not  seem  to  change  his  mood.  He  let  Peace 
take  her  own  way  until,  having  slipped,  slid, 
and  tobogganed  on  tense  haunches  down  the  last 
grade,  she  felt  able  to  assert  her  individuality  by 
attempting  to  rub  him  off  against  a  tree.  Next 
she  attempted  the  immolation  of  a  fat  brown 
baby  that  was  rolling  with  a  nest  of  young  pigs 
in  the  dust  outside  a  hut;  and  thereafter  her  per 
formances  were  so  varied  that  he  was  simply 
compelled  to  take  some  notice  of  the  sights  and 
sounds  of  the  trail. 

Not  the  least  remarkable  were  the  frequent  and 

48 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

familiar  scowls  of  the  people  he  met.  Various 
in  expression,  they  ranged  between  the  copious 
curses  of  the  fat  senora  whose  pacing-mule  was 
driven  by  Peace  off  the  trail,  and  the  snarling 
malice  of  occasional  muleteers ;  but,  undisturbed, 
he  pursued  his  inquiries  for  laborers  at  every 
chance. 

"No,  senor,  we  do  not  desire  work." 

The  stereotyped  answer  merely  stimulated  the 
quiet  persistence  which  formed  the  basis  of  his 
character,  and  he  continued  to  ask  at  the  village 
which  raised  graceful  palm  roofs  out  of  a  jungle 
clearing,  at  the  ranches  which  now  began  to 
cover  the  valley  with  a  green  checker  of  maize 
fields,  and  at  scattered  huts,  half  hidden  by  the 
rich  foliage  of  palms  and  bananas.  It  was  while 
he  was  questioning  a  peon  who  was  hulling  rice 
with  a  wooden  pole  and  churn  arrangement  that 
the  subdued  hostility  broke  out  in  open  demon 
stration. 

The  trail  here  ran  between  a  fence  of  split 
poles,  which  inclosed  the  peon's  corn  and  frijoles, 
and  the  steep  bank  of  a  dry  creek  bed,  so  that 
only  a  few  feet  leeway  was  left  for  the  train  of 
burros  which  came  trotting  out  of  the  jungle 
behind  him.  In  single  file  they  could  have 
passed,  but  looking  around  he  saw  they  were 
coming  three  abreast. 

Had  he  chosen,  there  was  time  to  make  the 
end  of  the  fence.  But  he  had  seen  behind  the 
train  the  sparkling,  beady  eyes  of  Caliban,  the 

49 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

hunchback,  and  the  dark  grins  of  two  of  his  fel 
lows.  Flushing  with  quick  anger,  he  backed  Peace 
against  the  fence,  leaned  forward  over  her  neck, 
and  slashed  with  his  whip  at  the  leading  beasts. 
Checked  by  this,  they  would  have  fallen  back  to 
single  file  but  for  the  whips  behind  that  bit  out 
hair  and  hide  and  drove  them  on  in  a  huddled 
mass. 

It  seemed  for  a  few  seconds  that  he  would  be 
crushed.  That  he  escaped  injury  was  simply 
due  to  the  hereditary  hate  between  the  mule  and 
the  ass  which  suddenly  turned  Peace  into  a  raging 
fiend.  While  her  chisel  teeth  slit  ragged  hides 
her  other  and  busier  end  beat  a  devil's  tattoo  on 
resounding  ribs  and  filled  the  air  with  flying 
charcoal.  Yet  even  her  demoniac  energies  had 
their  limitations.  If  she  held  the  ground  for 
herself  and  master  she  could  not  preserve  the 
inviolability  of  his  white  trousers,  which  emerged 
sadly  smudged  from  the  fray.  It  is  a  pity  she 
could  not.  Little  things  always  cause  the  great 
est  trouble,  and  but  for  the  smudges  the  inci 
dent  would  probably  have  closed  with  Seyd's 
challenge: 

"Can't  you  be  content  with  half  the  road?" 
His  patience  even  survived  their  insolent  grins. 
Not  until  the  hunchback  in  passing  emitted  a 
hoarse  chuckle  as  he  surveyed  the  smudges  did 
Seyd's  temper  burst  its  bonds.  Swinging  his 
whip  then  with  all  his  might,  he  laid  it  across 
the  crooked  shoulders  once,  twice,  thrice,  before 

50 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  fellow  sprang,  snarling,  out  of  reach.  The 
ethers,  who  had  already  passed,  came  leaping 
Lack  at  his  cry,  knives  flashing  as  they  ran,  and 
though  they  stopped  under  the  sudden  frown 
of  a  Colt's  automatic,  they  did  not  retire, 
but  stood,  fingering  their  knives,  muttering 
curses. 

A  little  sorry  on  his  part  for  the  anger  which 
had  turned  the  sullen  hostility  into  open  feud, 
Seyd  faced  them,  puzzled  just  what  to  do.  It  was 
too  late  to  give  way,  for  that  would  expose  him 
to  future  insult.  Yet  if,  taking  the  initiative,  he 
should  happen  to  kill  a  man,  he  knew  enough  of 
the  quality  of  justice  as  dealt  out  by  the  Mexican 
courts  to  realize  the  danger. 

While  he  debated,  the  puzzle  was  almost  solved 
by  the  peon  rice-huller,  who  came  stealing  up 
from  behind  the  fence.  Not  until  the  man  had 
swung  his  heavy  pestle  and  was  tiptoeing  to  his 
blow  did  Seyd  divine  the  reason  for  the  glances 
that  were  passing  behind  him.  Looking  quickly, 
he  caught  the  glint  of  polished  hardwood  in  the 
tail  of  his  eye;  then, without  a  pause  for  thought, 
he  dropped  flat  on  the  rump  of  the  mule,  and  not 
a  second  too  soon,  for,  raising  the  hair  on  his  brow 
as  it  passed,  the  club  smashed  down  through  the 
top  rail  of  the  fence.  In  falling  backward  his 
weight  on  the  bridle  brought  Peace  scurrying  a 
few  paces  to  the  rear.  When  he  snapped  up 
right  again  the  fourth  enemy  was  also  under  his 
gun. 

51 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

But  what  to  do?  The  puzzle  still  remained — 
to  be  solved  by  another,  for  just  then  came  a  sud 
den  beat  of  hoofs,  and  from  behind  a  bamboo 
thicket  galloped  first  the  Siberian  wolf  hound, 
then  the  girl  he  had  met  at  the  train. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SO  silently  did  the  girl  come  that  the  charcoal- 
burners  were  forced  to  jump  aside,  and, 
springing  in  the  wrong  direction,  the  hunchback 
was  bowled  over  by  the  beast  of  the  mozo  who 
rode  at  her  back. 

"Why,  senor!"  she  exclaimed,  reining  in.  Then 
taking  in  the  knives,  pistol,  broken  club,  she 
asked,  "They  attacked  you?  Tomas!" 

Her  Spanish  was  too  rapid  for  Seyd's  ear,  but 
it  was  easy  to  gather  its  tenor  from  the  results. 
With  a  certain  complaisance  Seyd  looked  on 
while  his  enemies  scattered  on  a  run  that  was 
diversified  by  uncouth  leaps  as  the  mozo's  whip 
bit  on  tender  places. 

"He  struck  at  you?"  She  broke  in  on  the  rice- 
huller's  voluble  plea  that  never,  never  would  he 
have  raised  a  finger  against  the  senor  had  he 
known  him  for  a  friend  of  hers!  "Then  he,  too, 
shall  be  flogged." 

"I  would  not  wish — "  Seyd  began. 

But  she  interrupted  him:  "You  were  going 
toward  San  Nicolas?  Then  I  shall  turn  and  ride 
with  you."  Anticipating  his  protest,  she  added, 
"I  had  already  ridden  beyond  my  usual  distance." 

53 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Very  willingly  he  fell  in  at  her  side,  and  they 
rode  on  till  they  met  the  mozo  returning,  hot  and 
flushed,  from  the  pursuit.  He  was  keen  as  a 
blooded  hound;  it  required  only  her  backward 
nod  to  send  him  darting  along  the  trail,  and  just 
about  the  time  they  overtook  the  charcoal-burners 
a  sudden  yelling  in  their  rear  told  that  the  account 
of  the  rice-huller  was  in  course  of  settlement. 

Passing  his  late  enemies,  Seyd  could  not  but 
wonder  at  their  transformation.  With  the  ex 
ception  of  the  hunchback,  in  whose  beady  eyes 
still  lurked  subdued  ferocity,  all  were  sobbing, 
and  even  he  broke  into  deprecatory  whinings. 
Having  read  his  Prescott,  Seyd  knew  some 
thing  of  the  rigid  Aztec  caste  systems  from  which 
Mexican  peonage  was  derived.  Now,  viewing 
their  abjectness,  he  was  able  to  apprehend,  almost 
with  the  vividness  of  experience,  the  ages  of 
unspeakable  cruelty  that  had  given  birth  to  their 
fear.  But  that  which  astonished  him  still  more 
was  the  indifference  with  which  the  girl  had 
ordered  the  flogging. 

Such  glimpses  of  her  face  as  he  was  able  to 
steal  while  they  rode  did  not  aid  him  much.  It 
was  impossible  to  imagine  anything  more  typi 
cally  modern  than  the  delicately  chiseled  features 
lit  with  a  vivid  intelligence  which  seemed  to 
pulse  and  glow  in  the  soft  shadow  beneath  her 
hat.  And  when  from  her  face  his  glance  fell  to 
her  smart  riding-suit  of  tan  linen  he  was  com 
pletely  at  sea. 

54 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Curiosity  dictated  his  comment:  "Your  jus 
tice  is  certainly  swift.  Really  I  am  afraid  that 
I  was  the  aggressor.  At  least  I  struck  first." 

"But  not  without  cause."  She  glanced  at  his 
smudged  clothes.  "Tell  me  about  it."  And 
when  he  had  finished  she  commented:  "Just  as  I 
thought.  And  these  are  dangerous  men.  They 
would  have  killed  you  without  a  qualm.  In  the 
days  that  Don  Sebastien  was  clearing  the  country 
of  bandits  he  counted  that  hunchback  one  of  his 
best  men." 

"Yet  he  whined  like  a  puppy  under  your  man's 
whip." 

Smiling  at  his  wonder,  she  went  on  to  state  the 
very  terms  of  his  puzzle.  "You  do  not  know 
them — the  combination  of  ferocity  and  subservi 
ence  that  goes  with  their  blood.  In  the  old  days 
he  who  raised  his  hand  against  the  superior  caste 
was  put  to  death  by  torture,  and,  though,  thank 
God,  those  wicked  days  are  past,  the  effect  re 
mains.  They  are  obedient,  usually,  as  trained 
hounds,  but  just  as  dangerous  to  a  stranger.  If 
I  had  not  ordered  them  flogged  they  would 
have  taken  it  as  license  to  kill  you  at  their 
leisure." 

"Now  I  realize  the  depth  of  my  obligation." 

He  spoke  a  little  dryly,  and  she  leaped  to  his 
meaning  with  a  quickness  that  greatly  advanced 
her  in  his  secret  classification.  "I  have  hurt 
your  pride.  You  will  pardon  me.  I  had  for 
gotten  the  unconquerable  valor  of  the  gringos." 

55 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Oh,  come!"  he  pleaded. 

She  stopped  laughing.  "Really,  I  did  not 
doubt  your  courage.  But  do  not  imagine  for  one 
moment  that  they  would  attack  you  again  in  the 
open.  A  knife  in  the  dark,  a  shot  from  a  bush, 
that  is  their  method,  and  if  you  should  happen  to 
kill  one,  even  in  self  defense,  gringos  are  not  so 
well  beloved  in  Guerrero  but  that  some  one  would 
be  found  to  swear  it  a  murder.  Be  advised,  and 
go  carefully." 

"I  surely  will."  He  was  going  on  to  thank  her 
when  she  cut  him  off  with  the  usual  "It  is  noth 
ing."  Whereupon,  respect  for  her  intuition  was 
added  to  the  classification  which  was  beginning 
to  bewilder  him  by  its  scope  and  variety. 

In  fact,  he  could  not  look  her  way  nor  could 
she  speak  without  some  physical  trait  or  mental 
quality  being  added  to  the  catalogue.  Now  it 
was  the  quivering  sensitiveness  of  her  mouth, 
an  unsuspected  archness,  the  astonishing  range 
of  feeling  revealed  by  her  large  dark  eyes.  Look 
ing  down  upon  the  charcoal-burners,  they  had 
gleamed  like  black  diamonds;  in  talking,  their 
soft  glow  waxed  and  waned.  Sometimes — but 
this  was  omitted  from  the  classification  because 
it  only  occurred  when  his  head  was  turned — a 
merry  twinkle  illumined  a  furtive  smile.  Taken 
in  all  its  play  and  sparkle,  her  face  expressed  a 
lively  sensibility  altogether  foreign  to  his  ex 
perience  of  women. 

After  a  short  silence  she  took  up  the  subject 

56 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

again.  "But  I  am  giving  you  a  terrible  impres 
sion  of  our  people.  It  is  only  in  moments  of 
passion  that  the  old  Aztec  crops  out.  At  other 
times  they  are  kind,  pleasant,  generous.  Neither 
are  we  the  cruel  taskmasters  that  some  foreign 
books  and  papers  portray  us.  You  would  not 
believe  how  angry  they  make  me — the  angrier 
because  I  have  a  strain  of  your  blood  in  my  own 
veins.  My  grandfather,  you  know,  was  Irish. 
It  was  from  him  I  learned  your  speech." 

The  last  bit  of  information  was  almost  super 
fluous,  for  from  no  other  source  could  she  have 
obtained  the  pure  lilting  quality  that  makes  the 
Dublin  speech  the  finest  English  in  the  world. 
To  it  she  had  added  an  individual  charm,  the 
measured  cadence  and  soft  accent  of  her  native 
Spanish,  delivered  in  a  low  contralto  that  had  in 
it  a  little  break.  Her  laugh  punctuated  its  flow 
as  she  came  to  her  conclusion. 

"But  you  will  soon  be  able  to  see  for  yourself 
what  terrible  people  we  are." 

He  obtained  one  glimpse  within  the  next  mile. 
He  had  already  noted  the  passing  of  the  last  wild 
jungle.  From  fields  of  maize  which  alternated 
with  sunburned  fields  of  maguey  they  now  rode 
into  an  avenue  that  led  on  through  green  cane. 
Rising  far  above  their  heads,  the  cane  marched 
with  them  for  a  half  mile,  then  suddenly  opened 
out  around  a  primitive  wooden  sugar  mill.  Un 
der  the  thatched  roof  of  an  open  hut  half-nude 
women  were  stirring  boiling  syrup  in  open  pans, 

57 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

and  at  the  sight  of  Francesca  one  of  them  came 
running  out  to  the  trail. 

"Her  baby  is  to  be  christened  next  Sunday," 
the  girl  told  him  as  they  rode  on.  "She  was 
breaking  her  heart  because  she  had  no  robe.  But 
now  she  is  happy,  for  I  have  promised  to  ask  the 
good  mama  to  lend  her  mine,  which  she  has 
treasured  all  these  years." 

Soon  afterward  as  they  turned  out  of  the  cane 
into  a  new  planting  they  almost  ran  down  her 
uncle,  who  had  come  out  to  inspect  the  work. 
Only  his  quick  use  of  the  spur  averted  a  collision, 
and  as  his  own  spirited  roan  sprang  sideways 
Seyd  noted  with  admiration  that  despite  his  bulk 
and  age  horse  and  man  moved  as  one.  If  sur 
prised  at  the  sight  of  his  niece  in  such  company, 
the  old  man  did  not  reveal  it  by  so  much  as  the 
lift  of  a  brow.  It  was  difficult  even  to  perceive 
the  twinkle  in  his  eyes  that  lightened  his  chiding. 

' "Ola,  Francesca!  If  there  be  no  respect  for 
thy  own  pretty  neck,  at  least  have  pity  on  my 
old  bones.  It  is  you,  senor?  Welcome  to  San 
Nicolas." 

Neither  did  Seyd's  explanation  of  his  business 
abate  his  brown  impassivity.  If  assumed,  his 
ponderous  effort  at  recollection  was  wonderfully 
realistic.  "Ah,  si!  Santa  Gertrudis?  If  I  re 
member  aright,  it  was  denounced  before.  Yes, 
yes,  by  several — but  they  had  no  good  fortune. 
Still,  you  may  fare  better.  Paulo,  the  adminis- 
trador,  will  attend  to  the  business." 

58 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

With  a  wave  of  the  hand,  courteous  in  its  very 
indifference,  he  put  the  matter  out  of  his  province 
and  displayed  no  further  interest  until  the  girl 
told  of  the  attack  on  Seyd.  Then  he  glanced  up 
quickly  from  under  frowning  brows. 

"You  had  them  whipped?  Buenol  The  ras 
cals  must  be  taught  not  to  molest  travelers. 
And  now  we  shall  ride  on  that  the  senor  may 
break  his  fast.  And  thou,  too,  wicked  one,  will 
be  late.  As  thou  knowest,  it  is  the  only  fault  the 
good  mother  sees  in  thee." 

"Would  that  it  totaled  my  sins,"  she  laughed. 
"To  escape  another  black  mark  I  shall  have  to 
gallop.  Ola!  for  a  race!" 

As  from  a  light  touch  of  the  spur  her  beast 
launched  out  and  away,  the  roan  reared  and 
tried  to  follow,  and  while  he  curbed  it  back  to  a 
walk  the  old  man's  heavy  face  lit  up  with  pleas 
ure.  "  She  rides  well.  I  have  not  a  vaquero  with 
a  better  seat.  But  go  thou,  Tomas,  lest  she  come 
to  a  harm.  And  you,  senor,  will  follow?" 

With  a  vivid  picture  of  the  figure  Peace  would 
cut  in  a  race  occupying  the  forefront  of  his  mind 
it  did  not  take  Seyd  long  to  choose.  After  the 
girl  had  passed  from  sight  behind  a  clump  of 
tamarinds  he  took  note,  as  they  rode  along,  of  the 
peons  who  were  laying  the  field  out  in  shallow 
ditches  wherein  others  were  planting  long  shoots 
of  seed  cane.  To  his  practical  engineer's  eye  the 
hand-digging  seemed  so  slow  and  laborious  that 
he  could  not  refrain  from  a  comment. 

5  59 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"It  seems  to  me  that  a  good  steel  plow  would 
do  the  work  much  cheaper." 

"Cheaper?  Perhaps."  After  a  heavy  pause, 
during  which  he  took  secret  note  of  Seyd  out  of 
the  corner  of  his  eye,  the  old  man  went  on:  "To 
do  a  thing  at  less  cost  in  labor  and  time  seems 
to  be  the  only  thing  that  you  Yankees  consider. 
But  cheapness  is  sometimes  dearly  purchased. 
Come!  Suppose  that  I  put  myself  under  the 
seven  devils  of  haste  that  continually  drive  you. 
What  would  become  of  these,  my  people?  Who 
would  employ  them?  It  is  true  that  theirs  is 
not  a  great  wage — perhaps,  after  all,  totals  less 
than  the  cost  of  your  steel  plow  and  a  capable 
man  to  run  it.  We  pay  only  three  and  a  half 
cents  for  each  ditch,  in  our  currency,  and  a  man 
must  dig  twelve  a  day.  If  he  digs  less  he  gets 
nothing. 

"That  does  not  seem  just  to  you?"  He  read 
Seyd's  surprise.  "It  would  if  you  knew  them. 
Grown  children  without  responsibility  or  sense  of 
duty  are  they.  If  left  free  to  come  and  go,  they 
would  dig  one,  two,  three  ditches,  enough  and  no 
more  than  would  supply  them  with  cigarros  and 
aguardiente,  and  our  work  would  never  be  done. 
As  it  is,  they  dig  the  full  twelve,  and  have  money 
for  other  necessities. 

"The  wage  seems  small?"  Again  he  read 
Seyd's  mind.  "Yet  it  is  all  that  we  can  afford, 
nor  does  it  have  to  cover  the  cost  of  living. 
Each  man  has  his  patch  of  maize  and  frijoles,  and 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

a  run  for  his  chickens  and  pigs.  Then  the  river 
teems  with  fish,  the  jungle  with  small  game. 
His  wage  goes  only  for  drink  and  cigarros,  or,  if 
there  be  sufficient  left  over,  to  buy  a  dress  for  his 
woman.  They  are  perfectly  content."  Slightly 
lifting  his  heavy  brows,  he  finished,  looking 
straight  at  Seyd:  "I  am  an  old  Mexican  hacen- 
dado,  yet  I  have  traveled  in  your  country  and 
Europe.  Tell  me,  senor,  can  as  much  be  said  of 
your  poor?" 

Now,  in  preparing  a  thesis  for  one  of  his  social- 
science  courses,  Seyd  had  studied  the  wage  scale 
of  the  cotton  industry,  and  so  knew  that,  ridicu 
lously  small  as  this  peon  wage  appeared  at  the 
first  glance,  it  actually  exceeded  that  paid  to 
women  and  children  in  Southern  cotton  factories. 
In  their  case,  moreover,  the  pittance  had  to  meet 
every  expense. 

He  did  not  hesitate  to  answer.  "I  should  say 
that  your  peons  were  better  off,  providing  the 
conditions,  as  you  state  them,  are  general." 

"And  they  are,  senor,  except  in  the  south 
tropics,  where  any  kind  of  labor  is  murder. 
But  here?  It  is  as  you  see;  and  why  disturb  it  by 
the  introduction  of  Yankee  methods?" 

Pausing,  he  looked  again  at  Seyd,  and  whether 
through  secret  pleasure  at  his  concession  or  be 
cause  he  merely  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  speaking 
out  that  which  would  have  been  dangerous  if  let 
fall  in  the  presence  of  a  countryman,  he  presently 
went  on :  "  Therefore  it  is  that  I  do  not  stand  with 

61 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Porfirio  Diaz  in  his  commercial  policies.  He  is  a 
great  man.  Who  should  know  it  better  than  I 
that  fought  with  or  against  him  in  a  dozen  cam 
paigns.  And  he  has  given  us  peace — thirty  years 
of  slow,  warm  peace.  Yet  sometimes  I  question 
its  value.  In  the  old  time,  to  be  sure,  we  cut 
each  other's  throats  on  occasion.  In  the  mean 
time  we  were  warmer  friends.  And  war  pre 
vented  the  land  from  being  swamped  by  the 
millions  that  overrun  your  older  countries,  the 
teeming  millions  that  will  presently  swarm  like 
the  locusts  over  your  own  United  States.  As  I 
say,  senor,  I  am  only  an  old  Mexican  hacendado, 
but  I  have  looked  upon  it  all  and  seen  that  where 
war  breeds  men,  civilization  produces  only  mice. 
If  I  be  allowed  my  choice  give  me  the  bright 
sword  of  war  in  preference  to  the  starvation  and 
pestilence  that  thins  out  your  poor." 

Concluding,  he  looked  down,  interrogatively, 
as  though  expecting  a  contradiction.  But  though, 
after  all,  his  argument  was  merely  a  restatement 
of  the  time-worn  Malthusianism,  coming  out  of 
the  mouth  of  one  who  had  strenuously  applied  it 
during  forty  years  of  internecine  war,  it  carried 
force.  Maintaining  silence,  Seyd  stole  occasional 
glances  at  the  massive  brown  face  and  the  heavy 
figure  moving  in  stately  rhythm  with  the  slow 
trot  of  his  horse,  while  his  memory  flashed  over 
tale  after  tale  that  Peters,  the  station  agent,  had 
told  him  when  he  was  out  the  other  day  to  the 
railroad — tales  of  bravery,  hardy  adventures,  all 

62 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

performed  amidst  the  inconceivable  cruelties  of 
the  revolutionary  wars.  Even  had  he  been  cer 
tain  that  the  eventual  peopling  of  the  earth's  va 
cant  places  would  not  force  a  return  to  at  least  a 
revised  Malthusianism,  it  was  not  for  his  youth 
to  match  theories  with  age.  When  he  did  speak 
it  was  on  another  subject. 

"I  have  been  riding  all  morning  on  your  land. 
I  suppose  it  extends  as  far  in  the  other  direction?" 

"A  trifle."  A  deprecatory  wave  of  the  strong 
brown  hand  lent  emphasis  to  the  phrase.  "A 
trifle,  senor,  by  comparison  with  the  original 
grant  to  our  ancestor  from  Cortes.  'From  the 
rim  of  the  Barranca  de  Guerrero  on  both  sides, 
and  as  far  up  and  down  from  a  given  point  as  a 
man  may  ride  in  a  day,'  so  the  deed  ran.  Being 
shrewd  as  he  was  valiant,  my  forefather  had  his 
Indians  blaze  a  trail  in  both  directions  before  he 
essayed  the  running.  A  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
he  made  of  it  when  he  started — not  bad  riding 
without  a  trail.  But  it  is  mostly  gone  by  family 
division,  or  it  has  been  forfeited  by  those  who 
threw  in  their  luck  on  the  wrong  side  of  a  revolu 
tion.  Now  is  there  left  only  a  paltry  hundred  or 
so  thousands  of  acres — and  this!" 

For  the  first  time  pronounced  feeling  made  it 
self  felt  through  his  massive  reserve,  and  looking 
over  the  view  that  had  suddenly  opened,  Seyd 
did  not  wonder  at  the  note  of  pride.  After  leav 
ing  the  cane  they  had  plunged  through  green 
skirts  of  willow  to  the  river  that  split  the  wide 

63 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

valley  in  equal  halves,  and  from  the  shallow  ford 
they  now  rode  out  on  a  grassy  plateau  that  ran 
for  miles  along  low  lateral  hills.  Dotted  with 
tamarinds,  banyans,  and  the  tall  ceibas  which 
held  huge  leafy  umbrellas  over  panting  cattle,  it 
formed  a  perfect  foreground  for  the  hacienda, 
whose  chrome-yellow  buildings  lay  like  a  band  of 
sunlight  along  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  thick 
adobe  walls  that  bound  stables,  cottages,  and 
outbuildings  into  a  great  square  gave  the  impres 
sion  of  a  fortified  town,  castled  by  the  house, 
which  rose  tier  on  tier  up  the  face  of  the  hill. 

When  they  rode  through  the  great  gateway  of 
the  lower  courtyard  the  interior  view  proved 
equally  arresting.  Mounting  after  Don  Luis  up 
successive  flights  of  stone  steps,  they  came  to  the 
upper  courtyard,  wherein  was  concentrated  every 
element  of  tropical  beauty — wide  corridors,  mas 
sive  chrome  pillars,  time-stained  arches,  luxuri 
ous  foliage.  From  the  tiled  roof  above  a  vine 
poured  in  cataracts  of  living  green  so  dense  that 
only  vigorous  pruning  had  kept  it  from  shutting 
off  all  light  from  the  rooms  behind.  Left  alone, 
it  would  quickly  have  smothered  out  the  palms, 
orchids,  rare  tropical  plants  that  made  of  the 
courtyard  a  vivid  garden. 

"They  call  it  the  sin  verguenza."  While  he 
was  admiring  the  creeper  Francesca  had  joined 
them  from  behind.  "Shameless,  you  know,  for 
it  climbs  'upstairs,  downstairs,'  nor  respects  even 
the  privacy  of  'my  lady's  chamber.'  Thanks 

64 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

to  the  good  legs  of  my  beast,  I  escaped  a  scolding. 
Sit  here  where  the  vines  do   not   obstruct  the 


view." 


If  Seyd  had  been  told  a  few  minutes  before 
that  anything  could  have  become  her  more  than 
the  tan  riding-suit  he  would  have  refused  to 
believe.  But  now  by  the  evidence  of  his  own 
eyes  he  was  forced  to  admit  the  added  charm  of 
a  simple  batiste,  whose  fluffy  whiteness  accen 
tuated  her  girlishness.  The  mad  gallop  had 
toned  her  usual  clear  pallor  with  a  touch  of 
color,  and  as  she  looked  down,  pinning  a  flower 
on  her  breast,  he  noted  the  perfect  curve  of  her 
head. 

"Room  for  a  good  brain  there,"  he  thought, 
while  answering  her  observation.  "It  is  beau 
tiful.  But  don't  you  find  it  a  little  dull  here 
after  Mexico  City?" 

"No."  She  shook  her  head  with  vigor.  "Of 
course,  I  like  the  balls  and  parties,  yet  I  am 
always  glad  to  return  to  my  horses  and  dogs  and 
— though  it  is  wicked  to  put  them  in  the  same 
category — my  babies.  There  are  always  at 
least  three  mothers  impatiently  awaiting  my 
return  to  consult  me  upon  names.  I  am  god 
mother  to  no  less  than  seven  small  Frances- 


cas." 


"I  never  should  have  thought  it.  You  must 
have  begun — " 

" — Very  young?  Yes,  I  was  only  fifteen,  so 
my  first  godchild  is  now  seven.  That  reminds 

65 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

me — she  is  waiting  below  to  repeat  her  catechism. 
There  is  just  time — if  you  would  like  it." 

"I  would  be  delighted.  So  the  position  is  not 
without  its  duties?" 

"I  should  think  not."  Her  eyes  lit  with  a 
touch  of  indignation.  "I  hold  the  baby  at  the 
christening  after  helping  to  make  the  robe.  When 
they  are  big  enough  I  teach  them  their  cate 
chism.  You  could  not  imagine  the  weight  of 
my  responsibilities,  and  I  believe  that  I  am  much 
more  concerned  for  their  behavior  than  their 
mothers.  If  any  of  them  were  to  do  anything 
really  wicked" — her  little  shudder  was  genuine — 
"I  should  feel  dreadfully  ashamed.  But  they 
are  really  very  good — as  you  shall  judge  for  your 
self.  Francesca!"  As,  with  a  soft  patter  of 
chubby  feet,  a  small  girl  emerged-  from  a  far 
corner,  she  added  with  archness  that  was  chas 
tened  by  real  concern,  "Now  you  must  not  dare 
to  say  that  she  isn't  perfect." 

In  one  sense  the  caution  was  needed.  After 
a  brave  answer  to  the  question  "Who  is  thy 
Creator,  Francesca?"  the  child  displayed  a  slight 
uncertainty  as  to  the  origin  of  light,  added  a 
week  or  two  to  the  "days  of  creation,"  and  be 
came  hopelessly  mixed  as  to  the  specific  quanti 
ties  of  the  "Trinity" — wherein,  after  all,  she 
was  no  worse  than  the  theologians  who  have 
burned  each  other  up,  in  both  senses,  in  furious 
disputes  over  the  same  question.  But  better, 
far  better  than  letter  perfection,  was  the  simple 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

awe  of  the  small  brown  face  and  the  devotion  of 
the  lisping  voice  which  followed  the  tutor's 
gentle  prompting. 

"Fine!  fine!"  Seyd  applauded  a  last  valorous 
attack  on  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  small 
scholar  ran  off  clutching  a  silver  coin,  just  so 
much  the  richer  for  his  heretical  presence.  As 
he  rose  to  follow  his  hostess  inside  he  added,  "If 
all  the  Francescas  are  equal  to  sample,  the  next 
generation  of  San  Nicolas  husbands  will  un 
doubtedly  rise  up  and  call  you  blessed." 

"Now  you  are  laughing  at  me,"  she  protested. 
"Though  that  might  be  truly  said  of  my  mother. 
She  is  a  saint  for  good  works.  But  come,  or  I 
shall  yet  earn  my  scolding.  And  let  me  warn  you 
to  take  care  of  your  heart.  All  of  the  caballeros 
fall  in  love  with  mother." 

It  wyas  quite  believable.  While  seated  in  the 
dining-room,  a  vaulted  chamber  cool  as  a  crypt 
in  spite  of  the  sunblaze  outside,  a  room  which 
would  have  seated  an  army  of  retainers,  he  ob 
served  the  sefiora  with  the  satisfaction  that  even 
a  stranger  may  feel  in  the  promise  a  handsome 
mother  holds  out  to  her  girls.  In  addition  to  the 
sweetness  of  her  eyes  and  her  tenderly  tranquil 
expression  she  had  retained  her  youthful  con 
tour.  She  exhibited  the  miracle  of  middle  age 
achieved  without  fat  or  stiffness.  In  her  scarf 
and  black  lace  she  was  maturely  beautiful.  Wav 
ing  away  his  apologies  for  the  intrusion,  she  was 
anxiously  solicitous  for  his  wants  through  the 

67 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

meal.  Yet  he  noticed  that  in  taking  his  leave 
an  hour  later  she  did  not  ask  him  to  call  again. 

Up  to  that  moment  there  had  been  no  further 
mention  of  his  business.  But  as  he  stood  hesi 
tating,  loath  to  introduce  it,  Don  Luis  relieved 
his  embarrassment.  "Now  you  would  see  the 
administrador?  I  am  sorry,  senor,  but  it  seems 
that  he  is  away  at  Chilpancin  about  the  sale  of 
cattle.  But  if  you  will  intrust  your  moneys  to 
Francesca  she  will  see  to  the  business  and  have 
the  papers  sent  out  to  the  mine." 

Neither  did  Francesca,  when  saying  good-by, 
ask  him  to  return.  But,  conscious  that  with  all 
their  kind  hospitality  they  still  regarded  him  as 
an  intruder,  Seyd  was  neither  offended  nor  sur 
prised.  He  was  even  a  little  astonished  when 
Don  Luis  stated  his  intention  of  riding  with  him 
as  far  as  the  cane. 

Until  they  came  to  the  ford  they  rode  in 
silence.  Though  only  a  few  inches  deep  at  this 
season,  the  river's  wide  bed  proclaimed  it  one 
of  those  torrential  streams  which  rise  from  a 
trickle  to  a  flood  in  very  few  hours,  and  when  he 
remarked  upon  it  Don  Luis  assented  with  his 
heavy  nod. 

"Si,  it  is  very  treacherous.  One  night  during 
the  last  rains  it  rose  fifty  feet  and  swept  down  the 
valley  miles  wide,  bearing  on  its  yellow  bosom 
cattle,  houses,  sheep,  and  pigs,  and  it  drowned 
not  a  few  of  our  people.  And  each  year  the 
floods  go  higher.  Why?  Because  of  the  cursed 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

lust  that  would  mint  the  whole  world  into 
dollars.  Year  by  year  your  Yankee  companies 
are  stripping  the  pine  from  the  upper  valley,  and, 
though  I  have  spoken  with  Porfirio  Diaz  about  it, 
he  is  mad  for  commerce.  He  would  see  the 
whole  state  of  Guerrero  submerged  before  he  re 
voked  one  charter.  And  they  even  try  to  make 
me  a  party  to  it.  'General,  if  you  will  grant  us  a 
concession  to  do  this,  that,  the  other?  If  you 
will  only  allow  us  to  run  a  branch  line  into  your 
pine  we  can  make  big  money — guarantee  you 
half  a  million  pesos.'  When  I  am  in  Mexico  your 
Yankee  promoters  swarm  round  me  like  hun 
gry  dogs.  But  never  have  I  listened,  nor  ever 
will!" 

He  struck  the  pommel  of  his  saddle  a  heavy 
blow,  then  looked  his  surprise  as  Seyd  spoke. 
"I  should  not  think  that  you  would.  I  under 
stand  your  feelings." 

"You  do?  Caramba!  Then  you  are  the  first 
Yankee  that  ev*er  did.  In  return  for  your 
sympathy  let  me  offer  you  advice.  You  are  not 
the  first  man  to  denounce  on  my  land,  nor  is 
Santa  Gertrudis  the  only  location.  Yankees, 
English,  French,  Germans,  they  have  come,  de 
nounced  claims  here  and  there,  but  no  man  has 
ever  held  one.  No  man  ever  will.  Already  you 
have  tasted  the  bitter  hostility  of  my  people, 
and  were  I  to  nod  not  even  the  American  Am 
bassador  could  save  you  alive.  And  this  is  only 
the  beginning.  Let  me  return  your  money? 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Mexico  is  one  great  mine.  Anywhere  you  can 
kick  the  soil  and  uncover  a  fortune." 

"But  none  like  the  Santa  Gertrudis."  Seyd 
smiled.  "Of  course,  I  feel  it's  pretty  raw  for  me 
to  force  in  on  your  land;  but,  knowing  that  if  I 
don't  some  other  will,  I  shall  have  to  refuse.  As 
for  the  opposition — that  is  all  in  the  day's  work." 
He  finished,  offering  his  hand.  "But  I  hope  this 
won't  prevent  us  from  being  good  neighbors?" 

Shaking  his  massive  head,  Don  Luis  reined  in 
his  horse.  "No,  senor,  we  can  never  be  that. 
But  next  to  a  good  friend  I  count  a  hearty  enemy, 
and  you  may  depend  upon  me  for  that." 

With  a  courteous  wave  of  the  hand  he  rode  off; 
and,  watching  him  go  at  a  stately  canter,  Seyd 
muttered,  "Enemy  or  friend,  you  are  a  fine  old 
chap." 

"You  are  surely  a  fine  old  chap." 

Retracing  his  path  through  the  long  succession 
of  farm,  jungle,  and  fields,  Seyd  repeated  it,  and 
as  he  rode  along  he  saw  things  in  a  new  light.  As 
he  passed  through  one  village  at  sundown  the 
entire  population  was  filing  into  church,  the 
peons  in  clean  blankets,  their  women  in  decent 
black.  The  next  hamlet  was  in  the  throes  of  a 
fiesta.  Girls  in  white,  garlanded  with  flaming 
flowers,  were  dancing  the  eternal  jig  of  the 
country  with  their  brown  swains.  And  these 
two  functions,  church  and  baile,  marked  the 
bounds  of  their  simple  life.  A  plenty  of  rice  and 

70 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

frijoles,  a  peso  or  two  for  clothing,  were  all  that 
they  asked  or  needed. 

While  prospecting  hi  the  Sierra  Madres  Seyd 
had  drawn  many  a  comparison  between  the 
happy  indolence  of  the  peon  and  the  worry, 
strain,  strife  to  live  up  to  a  standard  just  beyond 
income  that  obtains  in  American  life.  Because 
the  peon  had  time  to  think  his  simple  thoughts, 
listen  to  bird  song  and  the  music  of  babbling 
streams,  to  watch  the  splendors  of  sunrise  and 
sunset  over  purple  valleys,  Seyd's  suffrage  had 
often  gone  to  him.  Observing  this  pastoral  life 
in  its  tropical  setting  of  palms  and  jungle,  the 
opinion  grew  into  a  strong  conviction. 

"The  old  fellow's  right!"  he  ejaculated,  riding 
out  of  the  last  village  into  the  jungle  proper. 
"We  have  nothing  to  give  his  people,  and  we'd 
surely  kill  all  they  have." 

Though  the  profusion  of  foliage  which  made 
of  the  trail  one  long  green  tunnel  prevented  him 
from  seeing  it,  he  was  now  riding  along  at  the 
foot  of  the  Barranca  wall.  Its  deep  shadow 
already  filled  the  jungle  with  a  twilight  that 
thickened  into  night  as  he  rode.  But,  knowing 
that  whatever  her  faults  of  temperament  Peace 
could  be  trusted  to  fetch  her  own  stable,  he  left 
her  to  take  her  own  way  while  he  pursued  his 
thoughts.  While  the  siren  whistle  of  beetles,  chat 
ter  of  chicJcicuillotes — wild  hens  of  the  jungle — 
deafened  his  ears,  he  tried  to  bring  the  crowding 
impressions  of  the  day  into  some  kind  of  order — 

71 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

no  easy  task  when  a  fire-eating  old  general  and  a 
typical  Mexican  mother  had  to  be  reconciled  in 
thought  with  a  young  girl  who  possessed  the  face 
of  a  Celt,  eyes  of  a  Spaniard,  vivacity  of  a 
Frenchwoman,  and  American  intelligence. 

Next  he  fell  to  speculating  upon  the  causes 
which  had  kept  her  single  at  an  age  that,  accord 
ing  to  Mexican  standards,  placed  her  hopelessly 
upon  the  shelf,  and  he  found  the  answer  in  the 
gossip  of  the  American  station  agent  on  his  last 
trip  out  to  the  railroad.  "She  could  have  had 
her  cousin  Sebastien  any  time,  and  there  were 
others  around  these  parts.  But  once  let  a  high- 
strung  girl  like  her  get  a  glimpse  of  the  outside 
world  and  no  common  hacendado  can  ever  hope 
to  tie  her  shoestring.  They  say  she  has  had 
other  chances — attaches  of  foreign  legations  in 
Mexico  City.  But  she  turned  'em  down — I  don't 
know  why,  unless  it's  ideals."  With  a  humorous 
twinkle  the  agent  had  added:  "Bad  things, 
ideals — always  in  the  way.  If  you  happen  to 
have  any  in  stock  give  'em  to  the  first  beggar  you 
meet  along  the  road.  Hers  are  keeping  San 
Nicolas  and  El  Quiss  from  reuniting,  but  she 
don't  seem  to  care." 

"A  fine  girl — the  man  will  be  lucky  that  gets 
her."  Seyd  now  re-expressed  the  agent's  homely 
verdict.  "If  it  wasn't — "  He  stopped  short, 
with  a  savage  laugh.  "You  darned  fool!  moon 
ing  over  a  girl  who  would  turn  up  her  pretty  nose 
at  any  gringo,  much  more  one  that  has  forced 

72 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

himself  in  on  her  uncle's  land.  Your  business  is 
to  get  a  fortune  out  of  the  mine,  and  do  it  quick. 
And  even  if  it  wasn't — " 

The  thought  was  never  finished,  for  the  last 
few  minutes  had  brought  him  out  into  the  star 
light  at  the  foot  of  the  Barranca  wall,  and  as 
Peace  gathered  herself  for  the  scramble  upward 
the  jungle  lit  up  with  a  sudden  flash.  Before 
Seyd's  ears  caught  the  report  he  felt  his  left 
shoulder  clutched,  as  it  were,  by  a  red-hot  hand. 
The  next  second  he  was  almost  thrown  by  the 
mule's  sudden  plunge — fortunately,  for  otherwise 
the  bullet  that  came  out  of  a  second  flash  would 
have  smashed  through  his  brain. 

"Muzzle-loaders!"  In  the  moment  he  lay  on 
the  mule's  neck  he  divined  it  from  the  thick 
explosion.  Then  the  thought,  "It  will  take 
them  a  minute  to  reload,"  followed  a  quick  calcu 
lation,  "They'll  catch  me  again  on  the  first  turn." 

With  him  action  always  sprang  of  subconscious 
processes  which  were  quicker  than  thought,  and 
while  he  crouched  on  her  neck  'and  Peace  took 
the  turn  on  a  scrambling  gallop  he  turned  loose 
with  both  of  his  Colts,  aiming  at  the  spot 
from  which  the  flashes  had  come.  And  the 
sequel  proved  his  judgment.  This  time  a  single 
flash  announced  the  bullet  which  grazed  the 
mule's  rump  just  as  she  shot  into  a  patch  of 
woodland. 

"Reckon  I  made  one  of  you  sick,"  he  inter 
preted  the  single  shot. 

73 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

The  burning  smart  of  his  wound  and  the 
treachery  of  the  attack  had  loosed  within  him  a 
fury  of  anger.  Reining  in,  he  felt  his  shoulder. 
The  bullet  had  plowed  a  furrow  in  the  flesh  of 
the  upper  arm,  but,  muttering  "I  guess  it's  bled 
about  all  it's  going  to,"  he  first  tied  the  mule  to  a 
tree,  then  slid  the  "reloads"  into  his  guns. 

It  would  have  been  foolish  to  expose  himself  in 
the  open  trail  under  the  clear  starlight.  Resist 
ing  the  savage  impulse  which  urged  him  to  close 
quarters,  he  crawled  back  to  the  edge  of  the  timber 
and  again  turned  loose  his  guns,  searching  the 
jungle  below  with  a  swinging  muzzle.  Time  and 
again  he  did  it,  thanking  his  stars  whenever  he 
reloaded  for  the  forethought  which  had  caused 
Billy  to  slip  an  extra  box  of  cartridges  into  the 
holsters,  and  not  until  only  one  charge  was  left  did 
he  pause  to  listen. 

Whether  or  no  it  was  the  firing  that  had 
frightened  even  the  night  birds  into  temporary 
quiet,  not  even  a  twig  stirred  in  the  darkness 
below.  He  caught  only  the  distant  whooping 
which  told  that  Billy  had  heard,  and  as  this  drew 
nearer  with  astonishing  quickness  Seyd  rose  and 
went  back  to  his  mule. 

"Coming  downhill  hell  for  leather!"  he  mut 
tered.  "If  I  don't  hurry  he'll  break  his  neck." 


CHAPTER  VII 

ONE^  afternoon  about  a  week  later  Mr. 
William  Thornton  was  to  be  seen  mixing 
mortar  for  the  bricks  he  was  laying  on  the 
smelter  foundation.  Rising  almost  sheer  from 
the  edge  of  the  bench  behind  him,  the  Barranca 
wall  shut  off  the  western  breeze,  and  from  its  face 
the  fierce  sunblaze  was  reflected  in  quivering 
waves  of  heat.  Coming  out  from  an  early  lunch 
he  had  noted  that  the  thermometer  registered 
ninety  in  the  shade,  and  he  was  now  ready  to 
swear  that  with  one  more  degree  he  himself 
would  be  able  to  supply  all  the  moisture  required 
for  the  operation. 

While  working  he  cast  occasional  glances 
toward  the  house;  and  when,  the  mortar  being 
mixed,  he  began  to  lay  brick  he  used  the  trowel 
with  care  lest  its  clink  should  awaken  Seyd. 
For  though  the  blood  loss  from  a  severed  artery 
had  left  him  quite  weak,  he  had  obstinately  re 
fused  to  stop  work.  To-day  he  had  even  balked 
at  the  suggestion  of  a  siesta  until  Billy  had  lain 
down  himself.  As  soon  as  Seyd  fell  asleep  Billy 
had  slipped  out,  and  when  he  now  paused  to  listen 
the  concern  in  his  look  passed  into  sudden  atten- 

6  75 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

tion  as  the  clink  of  a  shod  hoof  rose  up  from  the 
trail  below. 

Five  minutes  passed  before  he  heard  it  again, 
and  in  the  mean  time  his  actions  bespoke  an  in 
telligent  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  the  case. 
Picking  up  a  Winchester  which  leaned  against  a 
tree,  he  crouched  behind  his  bricks,  and  while 
training  it  on  the  point  where  the  trail  emerged 
on  the  bench  a  ferocious  scowl  overshadowed  his 
sunburn. 

"If  we  played  it  your  way  I'd  brown  you  the 
second  your  nose  shows,"  he  muttered  as  the 
hoofbeats  grew  louder.  "Thank  your  musty 
old  saints  that  we  don't.  Ah!  Eh?  Well!" 

The  interjections  respectively  fitted  the  wolf 
hound,  her  young  mistress,  and  the  mozo,  as  they 
appeared  in  the  order  named.  As  only  Billy's 
head  showed  over  the  bricks,  and  both  were  on 
the  same  color  scheme,  he  was  practically  invisible; 
and,  reining  up  her  beast,  the  girl  allowed  her 
curious  gaze  to  wander  around  the  bench  from 
the  gaping  hole  where  the  drift  ran  into  the  vein 
over  the  adobe  hut  and  foundation — just  missing 
Billy's  head — to  the  blue-green  piles  of  copper 
ore. 

"So  this  is  the  mina!"  Her  tone  denoted  dis 
appointment.  "Good  heavens!  Tomas,  is  this 
the  wealth  the  gringos  seek?  What  an  ado  over  a 
pile  of  stones!  I  should  think  Don  Luis  would  be 
thankful  to  have  them  carted  away." 

She  had  spoken  in  Spanish,  but  when,  having 

76 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

shed  his  arsenal  under  cover  of  the  bricks,  Billy 
rose  and  came  forward,  she  addressed  him  in 
English.  "Mr.  Thornton,  is  it  not?  We  have 
brought  the  papers  from  the  administrador — at 
least,  Tomas  has.  I  am  playing  truant.  Though 
it  is  only  fifteen  miles  from  here  to  San  Nicolas, 
this  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  seen  the  place. 
Where  is  Mr.  Seyd?" 

Now  than  Billy,  was  there  never  a  young  man 
more  naturally  chivalrous.  Usually  a  locomo 
tive  could  not  have  dragged  from  him  a  single 
word  calculated  to  shock  or  offend  a  girl.  But 
in  his  confusion  at  finding  an  expected  enemy 
changed  into  a  charming  friend  he  let  slip  the 
naked  truth.  "He  was  shot — returning  from 
your  place." 

"Senor!     He— he  is  not— dead?" 

There  was  no  mistaking  her  concern.  Sorry 
for  his  abruptness,  Billy  plunged  to  reassure  her. 
"No!  no!  Only  wounded." 

"Is  he— much  hurt?" 

It  occurred  to  Billy  that  a  flesh  wound  was, 
after  all,  rather  a  small  price  for  such  solicitude. 
But  where  a  touch  of  jealousy  might  have  caused 
another  to  make  light  of  Seyd's  wound,  his 
natural  unselfishness  made  him  paint  it  in  darker 
colors.  "  The  bullet  cut  an  artery,  and  he's  pretty 
weak  from  loss  of  blood.  Yet  he  won't  lay  off. 
I  had  to  trick  him  into  a  siesta  to-day.  I'll  go 
call  him." 

But  she  raised  a  protesting  hand.     "No!  no! 

77 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Let  him  sleep.  You  can  give  him  the  papers. 
Tell  him  when  he  awakes  that  he  will  hear  from 
us  again." 

With  a  smile  which  caused  Billy  additional 
regret  for  his  lack  of  wounds  she  rode  off  at  a 
pace  which  filled  him  with  anxiety  for  her  neck. 
Until  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  her,  foreshortened 
to  a  dot  on  the  trail  far  below,  he  stood  watching. 
Then,  muttering  "I'll  bet  Seyd  will  raise  Cain 
when  he  awakes,"  he  went  back  to  his  work. 

Nor  was  he  mistaken,  for  when  Seyd  came  out, 
yawning  and  stretching,  an  hour  or  so  later,  the 
last  vestige  of  sleep  was  burned  up  by  the  sudden 
flash  of  his  eyes.  "You  darned  chump!  Do  we 
have  visitors  so  often  that  you  let  me  sleep  on  like 
a  rotten  log?" 

Neither  was  he  appeased  by  Billy's  answer, 
delivered  with  an  irritating  grin:  "Why  should 
she  wish  to  see  you  when  I  was  around?  A  pallid 
wretch  who  has  to  make  three  tries  to  cast  a 
shadow!" 

"He  has,  has  he?"  Seyd  growled.  "Well,  I'm 
solid  enough  to  punch  your  fat  head." 

The  atmosphere  having  thus  been  cleared,  he 
commented:  "Went  off  to  tell  the  General,  eh? 
I  wonder  how  he'll  take  it?" 

"Shouldn't  imagine  he'd  shed  any  tears — un 
less  at  their  poor  shooting.  Well,  we'll  see!" 

And  see  they  did,  for  as  they  sat  at  lunch  on 
the  second  day  thereafter  a  yell  followed  by  the 
crack  of  a  whip  brought  them  out  just  in  time  to 

78 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   THE   BARRANCA 

see  Caliban,  the  charcoal-burner,  and  the  peon 
rice-huller  coming  on  a  shuffling  run  ahead  of 
Tomas.  The  bloody  bandages  which  bound  the 
head  of  one  and  the  leg  of  the  other  testified  to 
Seyd's  shooting,  just  as  their  glazed  eyes  and 
painful  pantings  told  of  the  merciless  run  ahead 
of  the  mozo.  It  required  only  the  hempen  halter 
which  each  wore  around  his  neck  to  complete  the 
picture  of  misery. 

"These  be  they  that  attacked  you,  senor?" 
While  the  rice-huller  squirmed  under  a  sudden 
cut  of  his  whip  the  mozo  went  on:  "This  son  of  a 
devil  was  found  nursing  a  wound  in  his  hut,  and 
he  told  on  the  other.  Don  Luis  sends  them  with 
his  compliments  to  be  hanged  at  your  leisure. 
If  it  please  you  to  have  it  done  now — there  is  an 
excellent  tree." 

Too  surprised  to  answer,  Seyd  and  Billy  stood 
staring  at  each  other  until,  taking  silence  for  con 
sent,  the  mozo  began  to  herd  his  charges  toward 
the  said  tree.  "Here!"  Seyd  called  him  back. 
"This  is  kind  of  Don  Luis,  and  you  will  please 
convey  to  him  our  thanks.  It  is  very  thoughtful 
of  you  to  pick  out  such  a  fine  tree,  but,  while  we 
are  sure  that  they  would  look  very  nice  upon  it, 
it  is  not  the  habit  with  our  people  to  hang  save 
for  a  killing,  and  I,  as  you  see,  am  alive." 

The  mozo's  dark  brows  rose  to  the  eaves  of  his 
hair.  "But  of  what  use,  senor,  to  hang  after 
the  killing?  Will  the  death  of  the  murderer 
bring  the  murdered  to  life?  But  hang  him  in 

79 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

good  season  and  you  will  have  no  murder.  And 
this  is  a  good  tree,  low,  with  strong,  wide  branches 
ordained  for  the  purpose.  See  you !  One  throw 
of  the  rope,  a  pull,  a  knot — 'tis  done,  easily  as 
drinking,  and  they  are  out  of  your  way." 

It  was  good  logic;  but,  while  admitting  it,  Seyd 
still  pleaded  his  foolish  national  custom. 

Though  his  bent  brows  still  protested  against 
such  squeamishness,  the  mozo  politely  submitted. 
"  Bueno!  it  is  for  you  to  say.  I  leave  them  at  your 
will  to  cure  or  kill." 

"Now,  what  shall  we  do?"  Seyd  consulted 
Billy.  "If  we  send  them  back  the  old  Don  will 
surely  hang  them." 

"Well,  what  if  he  does?  I'm  sure  that  I  don't 
care  a  whoop — "  He  paused,  then  suddenly  ex 
claimed:  "Are  we  crazy?  Here  we  have  been 
chasing  labor  all  over  the  valley,  and  now  that  it 
is  offered  us  free  we  turn  up  noses.  Keep  them, 
you  bet!  Put  it  into  Spanish  as  quickly  as  you 


can." 


Smiling,  the  mozo  nodded  comprehension. 
"As  you  say,  senor,  a  live  slave  is  better  than  a 
dead  thief.  They  are  at  your  orders  to  kill  by 
rope  or  work." 

Though  it  was  scarcely  his  thought,  Seyd  al 
lowed  it  to  go  at  that.  Throwing  the  ends  of  the 
halters  to  Billy,  the  mozo  concluded  his  mission. 
"It  remains  only  to  say  that  Don  Luis  will  have 
you  come  to  San  Nicolas  till  your  wound  is 
cured." 

80 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Fine!"  Billy  enthusiastically  commented, 
when  the  invitation  was  translated.  "I've  said 
all  along  that  you  ought  to  lay  off.  Go  down  for 
a  week.  By  the  time  you  come  back  I'll  have 
these  chaps  beautifully  broken." 

"And  you  unable  to  speak  a  word  of  Spanish — 
not  to  mention  the  risk  to  your  throat?"  Seyd 
shook  his  head.  "Besides,  the  old  fellow  made 
no  bones  of  his  feelings  the  other  day.  The 
invitation  is  merely  in  reparation  for  what  he 
considers  a  violation  of  his  hospitality.  If  it 
wasn't —  My  place  is  here." 

Accordingly,  the  mozo  carried  back  to  San 
Nicolas  a  note  which,  if  not  penned  in  the  best 
Spanish,  yet  caught  its  grave  courtesy  so  clever 
ly  that  its  perusal  at  the  dinner  table  caused 
Francesca  to  pause  and  listen,  drew  an  approv 
ing  smile  from  the  senora,  and  produced  from 
Don  Luis  his  heavy  nod. 

"The  young  man  is  a  fine  caballero.  Your  or 
dinary  gringo  would  have  saddled  himself  upon 
us  for  three  months,  and  we  should  have  been 
worn  to  skeletons  by  his  parrot  chatter.  As  he 
lets  us  off  so  easily,  I  must  ride  up  to  the  mine  and 
warn  those  rascals  to  play  him  no  tricks." 

Meanwhile  Seyd  and  Billy  had  been  giving 
the  disposition  of  the  said  rascals  considerable 
thought.  After  the  mozo  left,  Billy  cut  the  hal 
ters  from  around  their  necks  and  brought  them 
food  and  drink  from  the  house.  But  whether  or 

81 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

no  they  considered  this  fair  front  as  being  as 
sumed  to  emphasize  future  tortures  the  two  kept 
their  sullen  silence. 

"If  we  have  to  stand  guard  all  the  time  we'd 
be  better  without  them,"  Billy  doubted. 

"Yes,"  Seyd  acquiesced.  "Unless  we  can  find 
some  incentive.  I  wonder  if  they  have  families." 
When  the  two  returned  nods  to  his  questions  he 
continued,  hopefully:  "There  we  have  it.  Your 
Mexican  peon  takes  homesickness  worse  than  a 
Swiss.  If  we  offer  them  a  fair  wage  while  the 
smelter  is  building  I  think  they'll  prove  faithful. 
At  least  we  can  try." 

To  an  experienced  eye — the  mozo's,  for  in 
stance — the  sudden  brightening  of  the  dark  faces 
might  have  meant  something  else  than  relief. 
At  first  Caliban  seemed  to  find  the  good  news  im 
possible.  But  presently,  setting  it  down  as  an 
other  idiocy  of  the  foolish  gringos,  his  incredulity 
vanished.  In  one  hour  he  and  the  rice-huller  were 
transformed  from  sullen  foes  to  eager  servants. 
Indeed,  what  with  their  willing  work  that  after 
noon  and  next  morning,  the  smelter  foundation 
had  risen  a  full  yard  by  the  time  that  Don  Luis 
came  riding  up  to  the  bench. 

Looking  up  from  a  blue  print  of  the  founda 
tion,  Seyd  saw  him  coming  at  the  heavy  trot 
which  combined  military  stiffness  with  vaquero 
ease,  and  noting  the  keen  glance  with  which  he 
swept  the  bench  the  thought  flashed  upon  him, 
"Now  the  cat's  out  of  the  bag!"  He  did  not, 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

however,  try  to  smuggle  the  animal  in  again. 
When,  greetings  over,  Don  Luis  turned  a  curious 
eye  on  the  foundation  he  answered  the  unspoken 
question.  "A  smelter,  senor." 

"A  smelter?"  For  once  the  old  fellow's  mas 
sive  self  possession  showed  slight  disturbance. 
"I  thought—" 

"That  it  took  a  fortune  to  build  one."  Seyd 
filled  in  his  pause.  "It  does — to  put  in  a  modern 
plant."  While  he  went  on  explaining  that  this 
was  merely  an  old-style  Welch  furnace  of  small  ca 
pacity  he  felt  the  constraint  under  the  old  man's 
quiet,  and  was  thereby  stimulated  to  a  mis 
chievous  addition.  "You  see,  the  freight  rates 
on  crude  ore  from  this  point  are  prohibitive,  but 
one  can  make  good  money  by  smelting  it  down 
into  copper  matte." 

"A  good  plan,  senor."  Like  a  tremor  on  a 
brown  pool,  his  disquiet  passed.  "And  how  long 
will  it  be  in  the  building?" 

"We  had  calculated  on  four  months.  But 
with  the  help  you  so  kindly  sent  us  we  can  do 
it  now  in  two." 

He  could  not  altogether  repress  a  mischievous 
twinkle.  But  Don  Luis  gave  no  sign.  "Bueno! 
It  was  for  this  that  I  came — to  read  these  rascals 
their  lesson."  Menacing  the  peons  with  a 
weighty  forefinger,  he  went  on:  "Now,  listen, 
hombres!  Since  it  has  pleased  the  senor  to  save 
you  alive,  see  that  you  repay  his  mercy  with  faith 
ful  labor.  If  there  be  any  failure,  tricks,  or  night 

83 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Sittings,  remember  that  there  is  never  a  rabbit 
hole  in  all  Mexico  but  where  Luis  Garcia  can 
find  you." 

Emphasizing  the  threat  with  another  shake  of 
his  finger,  he  turned  and  went  on  with  quiet  in 
difference  to  comment  upon  the  scenery.  "A 
beautiful  spot.  Once  I  had  thought  to  build 
here,  but  one  cannot  live  on  the  edge  of  a  cliff, 
and  San  Nicolas  has  its  charm.  Is  it  true  that 
we  cannot  tempt  you  to  come  down?  The  senora 
begs  that  you  reconsider." 

But  he  nodded  his  appreciation  of  Seyd's 
reasons.  "  Si,  si,  a  man's  place  is  with  his  work — 
and  I  have  stayed  too  long.  There  is  business 
forward  at  Chilpancin,  and  even  now  I  should  be 
miles  on  the  way." 

"Will  you  not  stay  for  lunch?"  Seyd  protested. 

But  replying  that  he  had  already  lunched  at  a 
ranch  in  the  valley,  the  old  man  rode  away  on  his 
usual  heavy  lope.  "You  see,"  Seyd  commented, 
watching  him  go,  "it  is  all  right  for  me  to  accept 
his  invitation,  but  he  will  not  eat  of  our  bread." 

"Well,  I  don't  blame  him,"  Billy  answered. 
"I'd  feel  sore  myself  if  I  were  he.  But,  say, 
we're  getting  quite  gay  up  here.  Regular  social 
whirl.  I  wonder  who's  next?  We  only  need 
mamma  to  complete  the  family." 

The  remark  was  prophetic,  for,  while  the  senora 
did  not  herself  brave  the  Barranca  steeps,  only 
two  days  thereafter  Francesca  and  the  mozo  re 
appeared  driving  before  them  a  mule  whose 

84 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

panniers  were  crammed  with  eggs  and  cheese, 
butter  and  honey,  fruit,  both  fresh  and  pre 
served,  also  a  full  stock  of  bandages,  liniments, 
curative  simples,  and  home-made  cordials.  While 
unpacking  them  on  the  table  in  their  house  the 
girl  laughingly  explained  that  if  Seyd  would  not 
come  to  be  cured  the  cures  must  needs  come  to 
him. 

"This  is  a  wash  for  the  wound."  She  patted  a 
large  fat  jug.  "This  other  is  to  be  taken  every 
hour.  Of  this  liquor  you  must  take  a  glass  at  bed 
time.  Those  pills  must  be  swallowed  when  you 
rise.  This" — noting  Billy's  furtive  grin,  she 
finished  with  a  laugh — "you  will  not  have  room 
for  more.  Give  the  rest  to  Mr.  Thornton.  But 
under  pain  of  the  good  mamma's  severest  dis 
pleasure  I  am  to  see  you  drink  at  least  two  cups 
of  this  soup." 

"You  shall  if  you  stay  to  lunch,"  Seyd  said. 
"Billy  makes  gorgeous  biscuit,  .and  they'll  go 
finely  with  the  honey." 

"If  you  can  eat  bacon — we  have  only  that  and 
a  few  canned  things,"  Billy  added,  a  little  du 
biously,  and  would  have  extended  the  list  of 
shortcomings  only  that  she  broke  in: 

"Just  what  I  like.  I'm  tired  of  Mexican  cook 
ing,  and  I  am  dreadfully  hungry." 

That  this  was  no  idle  assertion  she  presently 
proved,  and  while  she  ate  of  their  rough  food  with 
the  appetite  of  perfect  health  their  acquaintance 
progressed  with  the  leaps  and  bounds  natural  to 

85 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

youth.  Before  the  end  of  the  meal  she  had 
drawn  Billy  completely  out  of  his  painful  bash- 
fulness,  and  he  was  telling  her  with  great  pride 
of  his  beautiful  sister  while  she  contemplated  her 
photograph  with  head  held  delicately  askew. 

"Yes,  she's  fair,"  he  told  her,  adding  with 
great  pride,  "but  not  a  bit  like  me." 

"The  most  wonderful  hair!"  Seyd  volunteered. 
"Darkest  Titian  above  a  skin  of  milk." 

"Oh,  you  make  me  envious!"  she  cried,  with 
real  feeling.  "I  love  red  hair.  Luisa  Zuluaga, 
my  schoolmate  in  Brussels,  had  it  combined  with 
great  black  Spanish  eyes.  She  got  her  colors 
from  an  Irish  great  grandfather  who  came  over  a 
century  ago  to  coin  pesos  for  the  Mexican  mint. 
Now,  why  couldn't  I  have  had  them?" 

Observing  the  fine-spun  cloud  that  flew  like  a 
dark  mist  around  the  ivory  face,  Seyd  could  not 
find  it  in  his  heart  to  blame  her  grandfather,  and, 
if  good  taste  debarred  him  from  saying  it,  the 
belief  was  nevertheless  expressed  through  the 
permitted  language  of  the  eyes.  Perhaps  this 
accounted  for  the  suddenness  with  which  her 
long  dark  lashes  swept  down  over  certain  mis 
chievous  lights. 

Any  but  an  expert  in  feminine  psychology 
might  indeed  have  found  himself  puzzled  by  cer 
tain  phases  of  her  manner.  Its  sympathy,  ad 
dressing  Billy,  would  give  place  to  a  slight  re 
serve  with  Seyd,  then  this  would  melt  and  give 
place  to  unaffected  friendliness.  Occasionally, 

86 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

too,  she  offered  all  the  witchery  of  her  smiles,  yet 
the  hypothetical  expert  would  never  have  sus 
pected  her  of  coquetry.  The  feeling  was  far  too 
mischievous  for  the  fencing  of  sex.  Its  key  was 
to  be  found  in  the  thought  that  passed  in  her 
mind.  "'Almost  pretty  enough  to  marry,'  you 
said.  The  trouble  is  that  my  girlish  beauty  is  in 
inverse  ratio  to  my  future  fatness.  What  a  pity !" 

Yet  this  little  touch  of  pique  was  never  suffi 
ciently  pronounced  to  interfere  with  her  real  en 
joyment.  As  for  them — it  was  a  golden  occasion. 
If  they  ate  little,  they  still  feasted  their  eyes  on 
the  face  that  bloomed  like  a  rich  flower  in  the 
soft  shadows  of  the  adobe  hut,  their  ears  on  her 
low  laughter  and  soft  woman's  speech.  They 
found  it  hard  to  believe  when  she  sprang  up  with 
a  little  cry:  "I  have  been  here  two  hours!  Now 
I  have  earned  my  scolding.  The  madre  only  let 
me  come  under  a  solemn  promise  to  be  back 
before  sunset." 

Had  they  been  unaware  of  the  principal  con 
comitant  in  the  charm  of  the  hour,  knowledge 
would  have  been  forced  upon  them  when  she 
rode  away,  for,  though  the  birds  still  sang  and 
the  hot  sun  poured  a  flood  of  light  and  heat  down 
on  the  bench,  somehow  things  looked  and  felt 
cold  and  gray. 

And  she?  Going  downgrade  an  afterglow  of 
smiles  lent  force  to  her  murmur:  "Gringos  or  no, 
they  are  very  nice." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  HARD  gallop  of  eight  miles  carried  Fran- 
cesca  to  the  forks  where  the  path  to  and 
from  Santa  Gertrudis  joined  the  main  valley 
trail,  and  she  had  traveled  no  more  than  a  hun^ 
dred  yards  beyond  before  she  was  roused  from 
renewed  musings  by  the  thud  of  hoofs.  Turning 
in  her  saddle,  she  saw  Sebastien  coming  along  the 
valley  trail  at  a  gallop.  Passing  the  mozo,  whose 
beast  had  lagged,  the  hacendado  pulled  his  beast 
down  to  a  trot,  and  as  Tomas,  answering  a  ques 
tion,  nodded  backward  toward  the  hills,  vexation 
swept  the  girl's  face. 

It  cleared,  however,  as  quickly,  and  while  wait 
ing  for  Sebastien  she  measured  him  with  a  narrow 
glance.  The  straight,  lithe  figure,  easy  carriage, 
dark,  quiet  face  could  stand  inspection,  and  she 
paid  unconscious  tribute.  "If  I  hadn't  gone  to 
Europe  I  suppose — "  A  decided  shake  of  the 
head  completed  while  dismissing  the  thought. 
In  the  next  breath  she  murmured,  "Now  for  a 
fight."  Yet  her  expression,  saluting  him,  dis 
played  no  apprehension. 

"Yes,  I  was  at  Santa  Gertrudis."  She  quietly 
answered  his  question.  "Two  of  our  people  shot 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

one  of  the  gringos  as  he  was  leaving  our  place, 
and  the  good  mama  would  have  it  that  it  was  our 
duty  to  cure  him." 

"Ah!  the  good  mother?"  He  raised  his  brows. 
"And  she  chose  you  for  her  doctor?" 

"As  you  see." 

"Yes,  I  see.  'No,  Francesca,  thou  canst  not 
go.  It  would  not  be  right  for  a  young  girl — well, 
if  you  must — '  I  hear  it  as  though  I  had  been 
there,  and  wonder  that  the  senora,  who  was 
brought  up  in  the  letter  of  our  conventions,  should 
send  her  daughter  to  a  gringo  camp  with  only  a 
mozo  for  escort.  But  Don  Luis?  Is  he  also 
mad?" 

"No,  only  wise."  She  answered  with  irritat 
ing  simplicity.  "Take  care  that  you  do  not 
put  heavier  strains  on  a  slight  kinship.  Third, 
fifth,  tenth,  just  what  is  the  degree  of  our  cousin- 
ship?" 

"God  knows!"  He  shrugged.  "The  slighter 
the  better.  'Twill  serve  till  replaced  by  a  closer." 

"Which  will  be  never." 

"Only  the  gods  say  'never."'  He  quoted  the 
proverb.  "But  returning  to  your  amigos,  the 
gringos — " 

"My  amigos?" 

"You  have  received  and  repaid  their  visits. 
But  listen!  It  is  not  that  I  would  set  bounds 
for  your  freedom,  but  if  you  had  stood,  as  I  have, 
on  a  street  corner  in  Ciudad,  Mexico,  and  had 
heard  the  gringo  tourists  pass  comments  on  our 

89 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

women —  Dios!  I  choke  at  the  thought!  If 
you  but  realized  their  coxcombry,  conceit,  the 
contempt  in  which  they  hold  us — " 

She  had  flushed  slightly,  but  with  a  toss  of  her 
head  she  broke  in:  "It  is  not  necessary.  I  have 
heard  young  Mexican  men  comment  on  both  our 
own  and  American  women.  If  the  gringos  can 
teach  them  any  lessons — " 

"Apes!"  he  burst  angrily  in.  "Fools!  The 
degenerate  apes  who  put  on  the  vices  of  civiliza 
tion  with  its  collars!" 

"Perhaps.  But,  even  so,  it  makes  for  the  same 
point — there  are  gringos  and  gringos  just  as  we 
have  Mexicans  and  Mexicans." 

"And  these,  of  course,  are  the  other  sort?" 

"Exactly!"  She  robbed  his  sarcasm  by  her 
quiet.  "If  one  judges,  as  one  must,  by  their  be 
havior.  I  am  pleased  to  find  you,  for  once,  of 
my  opinion." 

"Of  your  opinion?"  He  regarded  her  with 
sudden  sternness.  "That  is,  to  be  friends  with 
these  men  who  have  forced  themselves  in  on  your 
lands?  I  had  never  expected  to  hear  it  fall  from 
the  lips  of  a  Garcia.  Now  listen !  What  if  your 
people  did  wound  this  man?  Is  he  the  first? 
Will  he  be  the  last?"  His  face  darkening  under 
a  rush  of  blood,  he  continued:  "I  had  thought 
this  pair  would  soon  ruin  themselves  as  did  the 
other  fools  before  them.  But  since  they  are 
working  on  a  surer  plan — " 

"What  do  you  mean?"     She  searched  his  face. 

90 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"So  anxious?"  he  laughed  bitterly.  "What  is 
it  to  you?" 

"Only  that  I  would  not  have  them  murdered." 

"And  would  they  be  the  first?  Is  there  a  foot 
of  Mexican  soil  which  has  not  been  soaked  with 
good  Mexican  blood  that  you  should  be  so  careful 
for  a  gringo?"  Slanting  through  an  opening  in 
the  trees  overhead  the  sun  shone  on  his  face, 
transforming  it  into  a  red  mask  of  hate.  "As 
yet  no  one  of  them  has  secured  himself  in  the 
Barranca  de  Guerrero!  So  long  as  a  Rocha  is 
left  to  do  the  duty  that  belongs  to  the  Garcias 
no  one  of  them  ever  will." 

But  now  he  had  touched  another  string,  and, 
straightening  in  her  saddle,  she  gave  him  look  for 
look.  "When  the  Garcias  need  the  Rochas  to 
settle  their  quarrels  it  will  be  time  for  you  to 
interfere.  I  should  not  advise  you  to  speak  thus 
to  my  uncle." 

Nevertheless  she  flinched  a  little  at  his  answer. 
"That  is  my  intention — this  very  night." 

With  that  they  rode  on,  in  silence  for  a  while, 
then  speaking  of  other  things.  But  when  he  left 
her  in  the  upper  courtyard  an  hour  later  she 
stood  at  her  door,  listening  apprehensively  to  the 
jingle  of  his  spurs  along  the  gallery.  When  he 
took  a  chair  beside  Don  Luis,  who  sat  there 
smoking,  she  listened  for  a  while.  Then,  flushing 
suddenly,  she  hastily  went  in. 

If  she  had  remained  there  was  nothing  to  hear, 
for  during  many  minutes  the  conversation  ran 

7  91 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

altogether  on  the  herds  as  they  came  winding  in 
from  distant  pastures  to  the  corrals  in  the 
square.  Night  had  reduced  everything  to  a  dark 
blur  before  Sebastien  commented  on  a  yellow 
twinkle  high  up  on  the  Barranca  wall. 

"That  will  be  the  gringos'  light  at  Santa  Ger- 
trudis."  After  a  long  pause,  "It  is  now  a  month 
past  since  they  came,  and — they  are  still  here." 

Don  Luis  flicked  the  ash  from  his  cigar.  "  What 
hurry?" 

"But  this  new  business?  The  smelter  you 
spoke  of  the  other  day." 

"Si,  the  smelter?" 

Sebastien  gave  his  own  interpretation  to  the 
other's  slow  tone.  "Then  there  is  something 
forward?" 

"What  need?  The  gringo  at  the  station  tells 
me  they  have  no  money.  A  single  mistake  and 
they  are  done."  After  a  sententious  pause  he 
added,  "  It  is  the  part  of  youth  to  make  mistakes." 

The  dusk  did  not  conceal  the  other's  impa 
tience.  "But  why  this  tender  care?  Are  they 
so  different  from  the  others?  A  word  from  thee 
and—" 

"Yes,  yes,  a  nod  and  it  would  have  been  done 
long  ago.  There  speaks  young  blood — the  hot 
blood  that  lost  us  Texas  and  Alta  California. 
These  lads  are  of  good  family,  Sebastien,  and 
there  can  be  no  disappearance  without  inquiry. 
Their  death  would  be  but  one  more  thorn  in  the 
side  of  the  rabid  beast  that  requires  small  urging 

92 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

to  devour  us.  No,  let  them  make  their  own 
end." 

"And  Francesca?  Is  she  to  have  the  run  of 
their  camp?" 

Don  Luis's  deep  laugh  rumbled  through  the 
courtyard.  "At  last  from  a  long  cast  we  come 
to  the  quarry.  Francesca?  She  is  a  wild  filly, 
the  despair  of  every  staid  tabby  in  the  country 
side.  Long  ago  I  discovered  that  the  one  way 
to  manage  her  was  to  let  her  have  her  head.  Nor 
will  it  be  the  part  of  wisdom  for  thee  to  interfere." 

"Neither  would  I  try — yet.  Commands  are 
for  husbands;  lovers  must  wait.  That  which  I 
propose  she  will  never  know.  It  is — "  Answer 
ing  the  other's  interrogative  look,  he  leaned  over, 
whispering  in  rapid  Spanish. 

Don  Luis  emitted  an  amused  chuckle.  "Se- 
bastien,  thou  art  truly  a  devil.  Had  thy  father 
possessed  but  the  half  of  thy  wit,  some  things  had 
gone  different  in  the  last  war.  Yes,  feet  that 
are  still  spoiling  good  sod  would  now  be  rotten 
bones."  After  a  pause  he  went  on :  "It  seems  a 
scurvy  trick,  yet  it  depends  on  the  men  them 
selves.  But — if  they  rise  not  at  the  bait?" 

"If?"  Sebastien  repeated  it  with  bitter  scorn. 
"Was  there  ever  a  gringo  that  would  not  bite  at 
such?  They  are  kind  as  goats.  I  ask  only  that 
you  go  there  with  Francesca  at  the  close  of  the 
week." 

"And  thou?" 

"I  shall  go  there  to-morrow." 

93 


CHAPTER  IX 

E/ING  in  the  letter  of  his  intention,  Sebas- 
tien  was  up  next  morning  and  had  covered 
ten  miles  of  the  trail  before  the  sun  rose  over  the 
Barranca  wall.  Early  as  it  was,  however,  others 
were  already  abroad.  The  sudden  increase  in 
his  family  had  obliged  Seyd  to  make  a  journey 
out  to  the  railroad  for  more  provisions,  and  when 
Sebastien  paused  to  breathe  his  beast  halfway 
up  the  grade  to  the  bench,  a  good  glass  would 
have  shown  him  Light  and  Peace  gingerly  picking 
their  way  along  the  trail  that  had  been  built  by 
Don  Luis's  orders  around  the  slide  on  the  oppo 
site  wall. 

As  usual,  Sebastien's  approach  was  announced 
by  the  ring  of  hoofs,  but,  imagining  it  to  be  some 
charcoal-burner,  Billy,  who  was  already  at  his 
bricks,  did  not  look  up  till  warned  by  Caliban's 
stealthy  hiss.  In  his  surprise  he  forgot  to  re 
ply  to  Sebastien's  greeting,  and  simply  an 
swered  the  other's  question. 

"Don  Roberto?     He  is  not  here?" 

"No,  gone  out  to  the  railroad.  Won't  be  back 
for  three  days." 

"  Caramba!    After  I  had  climbed  these  heights 

94 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

to  see  him!"  Though  his  eyebrows  and  hands 
both  testified  to  Sebastien 's  disappointment,  a 
sharper  eye  than  Billy's  might  have  discerned 
the  underlying  satisfaction.  Moreover,  if  he  ap 
peared  merely  inquisitively  friendly  during  the 
hour  he  stayed  to  chat,  not  one  minute  was 
wasted.  From  the  first  question  to  his  final 
comment  on  Billy's  work,  "You  gringos  are  cer 
tainly  a  wonderful  people,"  all  was  directed  to 
one  end. 

"Yes,  we  usually  get  there,"  Billy  modestly 
admitted,  and  his  next  words  paved  a  lovely 
road  for  Sebastien  to  come  to  his  purpose.  "  The 
building  would  go  faster  if  I  hadn't  so  many 
things  to  do.  After  laying  bricks  all  day  I  have 
to  turn  in  and  cook,  and,  though  it's  pretty 
tough,  there  doesn't  seem  to  be  any  way  out  of  it. 
We  tried  both  of  the  peons  at  the  cooking  and 
nearly  died  of  the  hash  they  served  up." 

"Tut!  tut!"  Sebastien  was  there  with  ready 
sympathy.  "  This  is  too  bad.  Soon  you  will  be 
completely  worn  out."  After  a  pause,  during 
which  he  may  be  imagined  as  taking  Billy's  men 
tal  temperature,  he  said:  "Bueno!  I  have  it! 
I  shall  send  you  a  cook — one  than  whom  there 
is  no  finer  in  all  this  country." 

If  he  had  harbored  any  suspicions,  Billy's 
beaming  smile  now  wiped  them  out.  "That's 
awfully  good  of  you.  Seyd  will  be  ever  so  glad. 
When  can  we  expect  your  cook?" 

"To-morrow  afternoon."     Scenting  hospital- 

95 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

ity  in  Billy's  glance  toward  the  hut,  Sebastien 
hastily  added,  "That  is,  if  I  reach  home  to-night 
— to  do  which  I  shall  have  to  be  going."  And 
refusing  the  offer  of  lunch  which  justified  his 
premonition,  he  rode  away,  leaving  Billy  puffed 
up  with  pride. 

"I  rather  think  I  turned  that  trick  well," 
he  congratulated  himself.  "Seyd  couldn't  have 
done  it  a  bit  better."  Occasional  fat  chuckles 
emitted  during  the  afternoon  testified  to  his  in 
creasing  opinion  of  his  own  diplomacy.  But  his 
rising  pride  did  not  attain  its  meridian  until, 
midway  of  the  following  afternoon,  a  pretty 
brown  girl  came  driving  a  burro  up  the  trail. 

Having  anticipated  a  man  cook,  it  required 
five  minutes  of  vehement  Spanish,  helped  out  by 
a  wealth  of  gesticulation,  to  convince  Billy  that 
the  girl  was  not  an  estray  from  a  neighboring 
hamlet,  and  while  her  dark  eyes,  white  teeth,  and 
shapely  brown  arms  were  engaged  in  explanation 
they  wrought  other  work.  By  the  time  Billy  was 
finally  able  to  understand  the  fact  he  was  hardly 
in  condition  to  pass  upon  it. 

It  is  only  right  to  state  that  he  had  little  time 
for  reflection,  for  from  the  very  beginning  the 
girl  took  the  direction  of  affairs  into  her  own 
hands.  Driving  her  burro  over  to  the  stable  she 
unpacked  a  stone  metate,  or  grinding-stone,  a 
pestle,  and  a  quantity  of  soaked  corn.  She 
turned  the  beast  out  to  graze,  then  dropped  at 
once  on  her  knees  and  began  grinding  paste  for 

96 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  supper  tortillas,  or  cakes.  When,  toward 
evening,  Billy  dropped  in  for  a  drink  he  found  her 
mantle  spread  on  his  bed  and  certain  articles 
of  feminine  wear  depending  from  the  nails  which 
had  hitherto  been  sacred  to  his  own  clothing. 

Blushing  furiously,  he  went  out — without  the 
drink.  But,  though  his  colors  would  have  done 
credit  to  a  girl,  they  were  not  to  be  weighed  in  the 
same  balance  with  the  green  peppers  stuffed  with 
minced  beef  that  she  served  at  supper  with  the 
tortillas.  While  eating  with  an  appetite  born  of  a 
protracted  canned  diet  it  is  to  be  feared  that  he 
fed  just  as  ravenously  on  the  atmosphere  shed 
by  her  luxurious  presence.  When,  after  supper, 
he  sat  in  the  doorway  and  watched  the  blood-reds 
of  the  sunset  flow  through  the  valley  he  might, 
with  his  fiery  stubble,  have  passed  for  some 
ancient  Celt  at  the  mouth  of  his  cave.  Not  until 
he  caught  a  second  glimpse  of  the  mantle  while 
stealing  a  look  at  the  girl  washing  up  dishes  did 
he  return  to  his  usual  bashful  self.  Slipping 
quietly  inside,  he  gathered  up  the  blankets  off 
Seyd's  bed  and  carried  them  out  to  make  his 
own  couch  under  a  tree. 

This  procedure  on  his  part  the  girl  watched 
with  a  certain  astonishment  which  she  vented  on 
Caliban  while  giving  him  his  breakfast  next  day. 
"I  had  thought  differently  of  the  gringos.  Be 
they  all  like  this  one — " 

"Give  time,  give  time!"  the  hunchback  ad 
vised.  "Big  fish  are  ever  slow  at  the  hook,  but 

97 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

when  they  once  rise — "  The  tortilla  he  used  for 
illustration  vanished  at  one  gulp.  "Wait  till 
thou  seest  Don  Roberto.  There's  a  man!  Of 
his  own  strength  he  threw  a  burro  off  the  trail 
into  the  Barranca  and  so  turned  the  train  that 
would  otherwise  have  driven  him  and  the  'Red 
Head'  into  the  canon.  'Tis  so.  The  history  of 
it  was  written  by  Don  Sebastien's  whip  on  the 
shoulders  of  Mattias  and  Carlos.  And  what  of 
the  magic  that  turned  my  bullet  fired  at  twenty 
yards,  then  found  me  and  Calixto  in  black  jungle 
and  shot  us  down  from  the  high  cliff?  Si,  chief 
of  the  other  is  he,  so  waste  not  thy  freshness." 

"Bah!   am  I  a  fool?"     She  elevated  her  nose. 

This  conversation  undoubtedly  explains  the 
staidness  of  her  demeanor  that  day.  Not  that  it 
was  necessary  to  keep  Billy  at  his  distance. 
Leaving  his  painful  modesty  out  of  the  question, 
in  his  ignorance  of  the  Mexican  peon  folk  he 
placed  her  in  his  imagination  on  the  same  plane 
as  a  white  girl,  and  as  the  color  of  a  skin  cuts  no 
figure  in  the  calculations  of  the  little  god,  pro 
viding  that  it  be  fitted  smoothly  over  a  pretty 
body,  she  found  favor  in  his  sight.  At  work  both 
the  next  and  the  following  days  he  kept  always  an 
eye  open  for  the  flash  of  her  white  garments  in 
the  doorway.  When,  with  the  earthen  jar  on 
her  head,  she  went  to  draw  water  from  the  spring 
his  glance  followed  the  swaying  rhythms  of  her 
figure.  If  not  actually  in  love  by  the  time  Don 
Luis  and  Francesca  put  in  their  appearance  next 

98 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

morning,  Billy  was  at  least  living  a  tropical  idyl, 
one  not  a  whit  less  beautiful  because  its  object 
departed  far  from  his  ideal  in  all  but  her  physical 
perfection. 

The  visit  had  been  skilfully  timed  to  miss 
lunch,  and  Billy  was  already  back  at  his  work. 
Crossing  the  bench,  Don  Luis's  eye  went  in 
stantly  to  the  girl  who  had  been  drawn  to  the 
door  by  the  sound  of  hoofbeats.  But  his  expres 
sion  gave  no  hint  of  his  grim  amusement.  The 
keenest  ear  would  have  found  it  difficult  to 
detect  sarcasm  in  his  remark. 

"I  see,  senor,  that  you  have  added  to  your 
family." 

Also  it  need  not  be  said  that  Francesca's 
woman's  eye  had  summed  at  a  glance  the  smooth 
oval  face,  rounded  arms,  shapely  figure;  yet  their 
undeniable  comeliness  brought  no  pleasure  to  her 
expression.  If  Billy  had  overlooked  Don  Luis's 
sarcasm  it  was  impossible  to  miss  her  scorn. 

"A  capable  housekeeper — if  one  may  judge 
from  her  looks — and  quite  at  home.  You  are  to 
be  congratulated,  Mr.  Thornton." 

Looking  up  in  quick  surprise,  Billy  noticed  the 
absence  of  the  sympathy  that  she  had  shown 
him  during  her  last  visit.  Feeling  the  cold  anger 
behind,  and  sadly  puzzled,  he  was  not  sorry  when, 
after  a  few  minutes  of  strained  talk,  Don  Luis 
asked  to  be  shown  the  vein.  Judging  by  his 
backward  glance  from  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
it  would  appear  that  he  had  coined  the  request 

99 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

to  pave  the  way  for  that  which  happened  the 
instant  they  disappeared.  For,  walking  her 
beast  over  to  the  house,  Francesca  spoke  to  the 
girl. 

"Thy  name?" 

"Carmelita,  senorita." 

"Of  what  village?" 

"Chilpancin — I  am  the  daughter  to  Candela- 
rio,  the  maker  of  hair  ropes." 

Though  she  answered  with  the  glib  obsequious 
ness  of  her  class,  the  appraising  glance  which 
swept  Francesca  from  head  to  heel  carried  a  mute 
challenge  and  conveyed  her  full  knowledge  that 
a  battle  was  pitched  such  as  women  fight  all  the 
world  over.  Neither  could  Francesca's  patrician 
feeling  smother  equal  recognition.  It  was  re 
vealed  in  her  next  question. 

"How  long  ha'st  thou  been  in  this  employ 
ment?" 

The  girl  paused.  Then,  whether  it  was  due  to 
Sebastien's  tutoring  or  her  own  malice,  she  gave 
answer.  "Eight  days,  sefiorita." 

"Who  hired  thee?" 

Downcast  lashes  hid  the  sudden  sparkle  of 
cunning.  "Don  Roberto."  But  they  lifted  in 
time  for  her  to  catch  the  sudden  hardening  of 
Francesca's  face. 

"  Then  see  that  thou  renderest  good  service,  for 
these  be  friends  of  ours." 

As  beforesaid,  neither  the  cold  patronage  of  the 
one  nor  the  sullen  obsequiousness  of  the  other 

100 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

could  hide  the  issue  from  either.  Francesca's 
calm,  as  she  turned  her  beast,  did  not  deceive. 
Malicious  understanding  flashed  out  as  the  girl 
called  after,  "Si,  he  shall  have  the  best  of 
service." 

Returning  to  the  smelter,  Francesca  began  to 
talk  to  Caliban,  yet  while  questioning  him  con 
cerning  his  new  employment  she  could  not  be  un 
conscious  of  Carmelita  lolling  in  the  doorway, 
hands  on  shapely  hips,  an  attitude  gracefully  in 
dolent  and  powerfully  suggestive  of  possession. 
Perhaps  it  was  her  acute  consciousness  of  it  which 
injected  an  extra  chill  a  few  minutes  later  into 
her  refusal  of  Billy's  invitation  to  dismount  and 
rest.  His  suggestion  that  Seyd  was  likely  to 
arrive  any  moment  drew  a  still  more  decided 
shake  of  the  head.  Moreover  meeting  Seyd  as 
they  rode  downgrade  she  passed  with  the  slight 
est  nods,  nor  even  looked  back  to  see  if  her  uncle 
were  following. 

Doubtless  because  he  felt  that  he  could  well 
afford  it,  Don  Luis  did  stop,  and  before  riding  on 
he  once  more  threatened  Calixto,  the  rice-huller, 
who  was  with  Seyd.  "This  fellow — he  still  gives 
good  service?"  His  courtesy,  however,  did  not 
remove  the  chill  of  Francesca's  snub.  Hurt  and 
wondering,  Seyd  passed  on  up  to  the  bench — to 
have  his  eyes  opened  the  instant  that  he  saw  the 
girl  in  the  doorway.  When,  after  dismounting, 
he  walked  across  to  where  Billy  was  at  work  on 
the  foundation,  her  big  dark  eyes  took  him  in 

101 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

from  tip  to  toe  in  a  flashing  embrace.  She 
studied  him  while  he  stood  there  talking. 

"What  is  she  doing  here?" 

He  cut  off  Billy's  welcome  with  the  sharp 
question,  and  while  listening  to  explanations  his 
gray  eyes  drew  into  points  of  black.  In  the 
middle  of  it  he  burst  out,  "You  don't  mean  to 
say  that  you  fell  for  it  as  easily  as  that?" 

"Fell  for  what?" 

Billy's  round  eyes  merely  added  to  his  irrita 
tion.  "You  chump!  didn't  you  see  the  trap?" 

"The  trap?" 

"Yes,  trap!  T-r-a-p,  trap!  Got  it  into  your 
fat  head?  Don't  you  see  that  you  have  cata 
logued  us  with  the  San  Nicolas  people  as  a  pair 
of  blackguards  forever?  Oh,  you  fat  head!" 

That  was  not  all.  While  he  stormed  on,  say 
ing  things  that  he  would  willingly  have  taken 
back  a  minute  later,  every  bit  of  its  usual  mercu 
rial  humor  drained  out  of  Billy's  face.  Over 
Seyd's  shoulder  he  could  see  the  girl  in  the  door 
way.  A  certain  dark  expectancy  in  her  glance 
told  that  she  knew  herself  to  be  the  bone  of  con 
tention.  As  a  doe  might  watch  the  conflict  of 
two  bucks  in  the  forest,  she  looked  on,  and,  meet 
ing  Billy's  eye,  her  glance  touched  off  his  anger. 

"Stop  that!"  he  suddenly  yelled.  "Stop  it  or 
I'll  hand  you  one!  I  will,  for  sure!  What  do  I 
care  for  your  San  Nicolas  people?  I  didn't  come 
down  here  to  do  a  social  stunt,  and  why  should 
the  opinions  of  a  lot  of  greasers  cut  any  ice? 

102 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Let  'em  go  hang.  The  girl  looks  all  right 
to  me." 

"All  right!  You  innocent!"  Shaking  with 
anger,  Seyd  turned  and  spoke  to  Caliban,  who 
was  mixing  mortar  close  by.  "As  I  thought! 
If  half  he  says  is  true  her  reputation  would  hang 
a  cat." 

But  Billy's  jaw  only  set  the  harder.  While 
he  might  easily  have  been  persuaded  out  of  his 
idyl,  he  was  not  to  be  driven.  Out  of  pure 
obstinacy  he  growled:  "What  of  it?  I  reckon 
her  morals  won't  spoil  the  food.  She's  proved 
she  can  cook,  and  that  is  all  I  want.  She's  going 
to  stay." 

"She's  not." 

"She  is." 

For  a  pause  they  eyed  each  other.  Though 
their  friendship  had  survived,  nay,  had  been 
cemented  by  many  a  quarrel,  never  before  had  a 
disagreement  gone  such  lengths. 

"Look  here,  Billy."  Seyd  spoke  more  mildly. 
"This  won't  do.  She's  got  to  go." 

"Not  till  you've  shown  me — not  now,"  he 
hastily  added,  as  Seyd  began  to  strip.  "I'd  hate 
to  hit  a  cripple,  and — " 

"Come  on." 

But,  ducking  a  swing,  Billy  gave  ground, 
genuine  concern  on  his  face.  "No,  no,  old  man! 
You  are  still  weak.  Let  it  go  for  another  week. 
That  left  fin  of  yours—" 

Landing  at  that  precise  moment  on  his  ear, 

103 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

however,  the  member  in  question  proved  its 
convalescence  and  ended  the  argument  by  top 
pling  him  sideways.  Up  in  a  second,  he  closed, 
and  for  the  next  ten  minutes  they  went  at  it, 
clinching  and  breaking,  jabbing  and  hooking, 
with  an  energy  and  science  that  would  have  filled 
the  respective  souls  of  a  moralist  and  a  prize 
fighter  with  disgust  and  delight.  Avoiding  both 
of  these  extreme  viewpoints,  the  account  may 
very  well  be  given  in  the  terms  used  by  Caliban 
in  describing  the  affair  next  day  to  one  of  his 
companeros,  a  charcoal-burner. 

"Like  mad  bulls  they  go  at  it,  grappling  and 
tearing,  each  striking  the  other  so  that  the  thud 
of  their  blows  raise  the  echoes.  It  is  in  the  very 
beginning  that  the  Red  Cabeza  fells  Don  Roberto, 
but  instead  of  splitting  his  head  with  the  spade 
that  stands  close  by — was  ever  such  folly! — he 
helps  him  up  from  the  ground.  I  then  think  it 
the  finish,  but  no,  they  go  at  it  again,  hailing 
blows  in  the  face  hard  as  the  kick  of  a  mule,  and 
so  it  continues  for  a  time  with  only  pauses  to 
catch  their  breath.  I  am  beginning  to  wonder 
will  it  ever  come  to  an  end  when — crack!  sharp 
as  the  snap  of  thy  whip  and  so  swift  that  I  do  not 
see  the  blow,  it  comes.  The  Red  Cabeza  lies 
there  quietly  on  the  ground.  Believe  it  or  not, 
Pedro,  he  is  knocked  senseless  by  a  blow  of  the 
hand." 

The  immediate  consequences  may  also  be  left 
to  Caliban.  "Their  quarrel,  as  I  have  said,  is 

104 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

over  Carmelita,  the  dove  of  Chilpancin,  and  I 
now  expect  to  see  Don  Roberto  take  her  for  his 
own.  That  she  is  of  the  same  mind  is  proven 
when  she  comes  running  with  her  knife  for  him 
to  finish  up  the  Red  Cabeza.  But  again,  no! 
who  shall  understand  these  gringos? — he  gives 
her  the  sharpest  of  looks. 

" '  Vamos!'  He  shouts  it  with  such  anger  that 
she  stumbles  and  falls,  running  back  to  the 
house.  Also  she  makes  such  a  quick  packing  that 
she  is  driving  her  burro  out  to  the  trail  before  the 
Red  Cabeza  comes  to  his  senses." 

Billy's  eyes,  indeed,  opened  on  the  departing 
flash  of  her  garments.  "You  didn't  lose  much 
time,"  he  commented,  with  a  quizzical  glance  up 
ward.  "Well,  to  the  victor  the  spoils — or  the 
rejection  thereof.  That  was  a  peach  of  a  punch — 
the  bum  left,  too,  wasn't  it?"  The  old  merry 
look  flashing  out  again  from  the  blood  and 
bruises,  he  asked:  "How'll  you  trade?  In  ex 
change  for  one  admission  from  you  I'm  willing 
to  grant  you're  right." 

"Shoot!"    Seyd  grinned. 

"Would  you  have  been  as  careful  of  the  propri 
eties  if  the  senorita  were  out  of  the  case?" 

Smiling,  Seyd  raised  doubtful  shoulders. 
"Quien  sabe,  senor?" 

"Ahem!"  Billy  coughed.  "Now  you  justify 
the  continuance  of  my  wretched  existence.  All 
the  same,  while  it  may  be  correct  in  theory  your 
darned  morality  is  mighty  uncomfortable  prac- 

105 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

tice.  That  girl  could  cook.  The  next  time  you 
fall  in  love  please — " 

"Now,  what  are  you  talking  about?" 

"What  have  I  done?" 

Before  his  look  of  hopeless  surprise  Seyd's 
anger  faded.  "I  beg  your  pardon.  Of  course 
you  didn't  know,  but — I'm  already  married." 

"You?"       < 

"Me."  With  grim  sarcasm  he  added,  "And 
you  know  that  it  is  against  the  law  of  both  God 
and  man  for  a  married  man  to  fall  in  love." 

Feeling  dimly  that  something  was  expected 
of  him,  but  debarred  from  congratulations  by 
the  other's  irony,  Billy  floundered,  bringing 
several  attempts  at  speech  to  a  lame  conclusion. 
"When — when  did  it — happen?" 

"Happen?  That's  it."  Seyd  jumped  at  the 
word.  "It  happened  in  New  Mexico  three  years 
ago  when  I  was  down  there  'experting'  the 
Calumet  group.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a 
mine  foreman,  pretty  and  neat  as  a  grouse  in  the 
fall,  but  of  the  hopelessly  common  type.  I  don't 
have  to  describe  her.  You've  seen  them,  in  pairs, 
swinging  their  skirts  along  the  boardwalks  of 
any  small  town,  their  eyes  on  every  man  and 
a  burst  of  giggles  always  on  tap.  I  should  never 
have  paid  her  any  serious  attention  if  several  of 
her  admirers  hadn't  done  me  the  honor  of  getting 
jealous.  Until  one  big  lout  warned  me  to  leave 
her  alone  under  penalty  of  broken  bones  it  was 
never  more  than  a  mild  flirtation,  but  after  that 

106 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

I  went  deeper — so  deep  that  it  was  soon  impos 
sible  for  me  to  withdraw.  At  least,  I  thought  it 
was  then,  though  I  have  since  come  to  regard  my 
marriage  with  her  almost  as  a  crime.  You  see, 
I  thought  it  would  break  her  heart,  but  in  less 
than  a  week  after  the  marriage  I  discovered  that 
she  was  nothing  but  a  bundle  of  small  vanities 
bound  up  in  a  pretty  skin,  that  she  hadn't  a 
thought  above  the  money  and  position  she  ex 
pected  to  gain  through  me.  And  how  she 
changed!  As  a  girl  she  was  soft,  fluffy,  and  inno 
cent  as  a  kitten,  but  one  by  one  her  small  vanities 
and  frivolities  developed  into  appetites  and  pas 
sions,  and  I  awoke  to  the  fact  that  she  was  al 
together  animal — a  beautiful  animal,  prettier 
than  ever  in  her  young  wifehood,  but  without  the 
slightest  capacity  for  intellectual  or  spiritual 
development. 

"If  that  had  been  all — one  can  love  a  handsome 
horse  or  a  dog,  and  I  have  seen  women  of  as  low  a 
type  to  be  lifted  out  of  themselves  by  the  strength 
of  their  love.  But  she  was  absolutely  selfish — 
loved  only  herself.  What  made  it  even  more  un 
bearable,  she  was  conceited  with  the  supreme 
conceit  of  absolute  ignorance  that  scorns  all 
that  is  unknown  to  itself.  She  would  try  to 
impose  her  own  inch  -  and  -  a  -  half  notions  of 
things  upon  me,  and  she  did  not  hesitate  to 
pit  the  scraps  of  knowledge  she  had  picked 
up  around  the  mines  against  my  professional 
training.  She  was  bound  to  remold  me  on  her 
8  107 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

own  crude  model.  Actual  wickedness  would 
have  been  easier  to  bear,  and  I  can  assure 
you  that  the  third  month  of  our  married  life 
found  me  absolutely  miserable.  Fortunately,  I 
received  a  commission  just  then  to  'expert'  a 
group  of  Mexican  mines,  and,  as  she  preferred 
civilization  as  it  goes  in  New  Mexico  to  the  hard 
ships  of  a  trip  through  the  Sonora  desert,  I  left 
her  behind.  Later  I  came  south  on  a  prospecting 
trip  through  the  Sierra  Madres,  and  have  never 
seen  her  since." 

All  through  he  had  spoken  with  the  furious 
vehemence  of  a  man  easing  a  load  off  his  mind. 
Thrusting  a  letter  into  Billy's  hand,  he  finished, 
walking  away:  "Read  that — I  got  it  at  the  sta 
tion  yesterday.  It  reveals  more  than  I  could 
tell  you  in  the  next  twenty-four  hours." 

And  it  surely  did.  The  stiff  round  hand,  as 
much  as  the  bald  statement  of  want  and  de 
sires,  revealed  a  nature  blind  to  all  but  its  own 
ends.  Every  phrase  was  a  cry  or  complaint. 
He  had  no  business  to  go  off  and  leave  her 
alone!  All  her  friends  agreed  that  it  was  a 
"shame  and  a  disgrace."  But  he  needn't  think 
that  she  would  stand  such  treatment  for 
ever!  He  had  better  come  home,  and  that  at 
once!  So  far  she  hadn't  tried  to  "better  her 
self."  But  it  wasn't  for  lack  of  the  chance! 
There  was  a  gentleman — no  fresh  dude  or  college 
guy,  but  a  rich  mining  man,  eminently  respect 
able,  who  had  shown  a  decided  interest !  He 

108 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

(Seyd)  had  better  look  out.  Thus  and  so  did  the 
awkward  hand  run  over  many  pages,  and,  while 
Billy's  eye  followed,  his  expression  gradually 
settled  in  complete  disgust. 

"Hopelessly  common!  You  poor  chap,"  he 
muttered,  looking  after  Seyd,  who  was  now  help 
ing  Caliban  to  arrange  the  goods  as  he  carried 
them  from  the  mules  into  the  adobe.  "To 
think  that  you  have  had  this  on  your  mind  all 
this  time!"  After  a  moment's  reflection  he 
added,  "But — married  or  unmarried,  you  are 
still  in  love." 

Unaware  of  this  frank  opinion,  Seyd  went  on 
arranging  the  stores.  While  working,  the  eager 
vehemence  of  his  manner  settled  into  heavy 
brooding,  and  it  was  not  for  some  time  that  a 
cheerful  flash  indicated  his  arrival  at  some 
conclusion. 

"I've  got  it!"  he  murmured.  And  turning  so 
suddenly  that  Caliban  dropped  the  package  he 
was  carrying  in,  he  asked,  "Hast  thou  any  ac 
quaintance  at  San  Nicolas?" 

Reassured  that  the  strange  gringo  madness  was 
not  to  be  vented  on  him,  the  hunchback  nodded, 
"One  of  the  kitchen  women  is  daughter  to  my 
sister." 

He  nodded  again  in  answer  to  a  second  ques 
tion  as  to  whether  his  niece  could  convey  cer 
tain  information  to  the  senorita  Francesca's 
ear? 

"Si,  there  is  always  gossip  moving  among  the 

109 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

women.  It  could  be  passed  through  Rosa,  her 
maid." 

For  a  man  who  had  just  taken  offense  at  the 
very  suggestion  that  he  was  in  love  Seyd's  face 
expressed  a  surprising  amount  of  satisfaction. 
A  little  sheepishly  he  now  went  on:  "It  must  be 
that  thou  wouldst  care  to  see  thy  relative? 
To-morrow  is  Sunday,  and,  as  thy  service  has 
been  good,  it  shall  be  a  holiday,  and  thou  shalt 
have  a  mule  to  ride  to  San  Nicolas." 

To  tell  the  truth,  the  hunchback  did  not  seem 
overjoyed  at  the  prospect,  at  least  not  until 
Seyd  tossed  a  silver  peso  on  the  table.  "This  is 
to  buy  thee  meat  and  drink  by  the  way,  and  if  it 
be  that  thy  niece  can  whisper — " 

His  beady  eyes  glittering  with  comprehension, 
the  hunchback  broke  in,  "That  the  dove  flew  at 
thy  coming.  She  shall  know  it,  senor — also  from 
whose  hand  she  came  hither." 

The  quickness  with  which  the  fellow  leaped  to 
his  meaning  was  rather  disconcerting,  and  Seyd 
blushed.  But,  commanding  his  guilty  colors,  he 
brazened  it  out.  "But  see!  She  is  not  to  know 
that  it  proceeds  from  me." 

"Si,  senor."  The  man's  quick  grin  indicated 
an  unearthly  comprehension.  "  It  will  be  a  bit  of 
gossip  from  the  mouth  of  a  muleteer." 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Billy,  who  had  just 
returned  to  work  after  washing  the  blood  from 
his  face,  heard  a  cheerful  whistling  inside. 
When,  an  hour  later,  he  went  in  to  help  with 

no 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

supper  he  found  Seyd  his  usual  cheerful  self. 
Next  morning  his  spirits  were  still  higher,  but 
did  not  attain  their  meridian  until  Caliban  de 
parted  for  San  Nicolas,  bravely  attired  in  a  gaudy 
suit  which  he  had  dug  from  some  obscure  corner 
of  the  stable.  Toward  evening,  however,  a  touch 
of  anxiety  dampened  his  mood.  It  might  almost 
have  been  regarded  as  premonitory  of  the  news 
Caliban  delivered  in  the  dusk  outside. 

"The  senorita  Francesca  has  gone  to  visit  her 
mother's  people  at  Cuernavaca.  It  is  not  known 
when  she  will  return." 

"Very  well;  thou  hast  done  thy  share,"  Seyd 
answered. 

His  quiet  tone,  however,  did  not  deceive  the 
hunchback.  "Did  I  not  say  these  gringos  were 
a  mad  people?"  he  demanded  of  Calixto,  showing 
two  pesos  by  the  light  of  the  stable  lantern. 
"He  pays  me  a  peso  to  bring  him  good  news,  and 
gives  me  two  when  I  return  with  bad — and  to 
think  that  I  was  minded  to  feed  him  lies.  Truly, 
there  is  no  knowing  when  to  have  them!  'Tis 
the  truth  serves  best  with  fools  and  gringos." 


CHAPTER  X 

"T~\ ONE— at  last!" 

1  J  Sprawled  on  the  flat  of  his  back,  with 
his  curly  head  propped  on  his  hands  and  his 
lime-eaten  boots  spread  at  a  comfortable  angle, 
Billy  gazed  upon  their  completed  labor.  The 
"well" — into  which  the  liquid  copper  matte 
would  presently  be  flowing — crucible,  slag  spout, 
blast  pipes,  or  tuyeres,  and  canvas  blowers,  even 
the  inclined  way  that  led  up  to  the  platform  over 
the  loading  trap,  all  were  finished,  and  from  the 
solid  bed  to  the  tip  top  of  the  brick  chimney 
shaft  Billy's  vision  embraced  it  all.  Including 
the  tons  of  charcoal  that  Caliban  had  burned  and 
brought  in  from  the  woods,  and  the  piles  of  ore 
which  Seyd  and  Calixto  had  broken  into  smelting 
size  with  "spalling"  hammers,  all  stood  ready  for 
the  match  that  Seyd  scratched  while  echoing 
Billy's  observation. 

"Done— at  last!" 

When  the  shavings  and  wood  were  fairly 
started  under  the  mixed  charge  of  charcoal  and 
ore  Seyd  also  lay  down  to  watch  the  first  smoke. 
Under  the  vigorous  blast  it  quickly  appeared — 
a  thin  blue  spiral  which  waxed  in  volume  and 

112 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

blackness.  In  thirty  minutes  it  laid  a  sooty 
finger  halfway  across  the  Barranca  above  the 
hills,  a  sinister  portent  to  the  rancheros  and 
peons,  one  that  found  a  dark  reflection  in  Don 
Luis's  frown  as  he  looked  out  from  the  upper 
patio  of  San  Nicolas,  far  away. 

Unconscious,  however,  of  alien  observation, 
Seyd  watched  the  fluctuations  of  the  black  smoke 
with  lazy  enjoyment.  He  permitted  his  fancy 
to  float  with  the  waving  pennon  out  over  the 
valley  down  the  river,  where  it  set  him  aboard  a 
log  raft  with  his  first  shipment  of  copper  matte 
and  set  him  drifting  down  to  the  coast,  where  he 
could  either  sell  to  the  United  Metals  Company  or 
ship  by  sea  to  California  smelters.  There  was 
nothing  impractical  about  his  musings.  Inde 
pendent  of  the  gold  values  it  carried,  one  smelting 
would  transmute  their  thirty-dollar  ore  into 
copper  matte  worth  a  hundred  and  twenty  dol 
lars  a  ton.  At  a  liberal  estimate  the  extra  twenty 
would  pay  expenses,  and  with  a  profit  of  a  hun 
dred  dollars  on  an  output  of  sixty  or  seventy  a 
week  during  the  two  months  before  the  rains, 
there  was  a  small  fortune  in  it.  Next  year  they 
could  both  import  their  labor  and  put  in  a 
regular  plant.  Thereafter  they  would  be  in  a 
position  to  deliver  "blister"  copper  instead  of 
niatte  to  the  market.  Why,  flaming  under  the 
breath  of  this  first  success,  fancy  leaped  out  to 
all  sorts  of  possibilities,  raised  wharves,  bunkers, 
storehouses  in  the  jungle  below,  set  a  fleet  of 

113 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

flat-bottomed  sternwheelers  on  the  river.  And 
never  was  there  such  a  river!  He  was  traveling 
ite  long  reaches  in  thought  when  fancy  suddenly 
steered  his  argosy  of  dreams  into  the  San  Nicolas 
landing. 

The  next  second  he  was  sitting  again  in  the 
shaded  gallery  of  the  upper  patio,  its  flowers  and 
bird  song,  sunshine  and  fountain  splash  in  his 
eyes  and  ears.  As  on  the  other  day,  he  watched 
Francesca  bending  over  her  godchild,  and  while 
he  was  contrasting  her  air  of  tender  solicitude 
with  the  cold  hauteur  of  her  face  a  month  ago  he 
thought  she  looked  up  with  a  smile.  He  was 
answering  it  when  the  smiling  eyes  were  wiped 
out  by  the  intrusion  of  some  unpleasant  thought. 

"You  fool!"  he  chided  himself.  Then,  sitting 
suddenly  up,  he  smote  Billy  on  the  thigh  with 
force  that  drew  a  yell  of  anguish.  "It's  a  mint, 
boy!  A  blooming  mint!  I  wouldn't  trade  my 
share  for  the  best  gold  mine  in  Tonopah.  Next 
year  we'll  put  in  a  big  plant — " 

"Reverberatories  with  water  jackets!"  Billy 
enthusiastically  took  up  the  tale. 

"Sure,  and  we'll  build  down  on  the  flat  by  the 
river  and  deliver  the  ore  by — " 

"Gravity.  Aerial  cable — self -dumping  buck 
ets— 

"We'll  refine  our  own  matte — " 

"Market  our  own  copper  and  gold."  His  blue 
eyes  shining,  Billy  ran  on:  "In  five  years  we'll 
be  rich,  then  for  a  rest  and  a  trip.  New  York, 

114 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   THE   BARRANCA 

London,  Paris,  with  Nice  and  Monte  Carlo 
thrown  in.  Europe  in  a  touring-car,  by  golly! 
Egypt  and  the  Pyramids!  A  steam  yacht  and  a 
trip  around  the  world!  Hurray  for  us!" 

"In  the  mean  time" — Seyd  led  him  gently 
back  to  earth — "remember,  please,  that  this  is 
your  trick.  Go  and  stoke  up,  or  there'll  be  no 
Paris  in  yours." 

And  surely  their  days  of  ease  lay  a  long  way 
off.  Long  and  hard  as  they  had  labored,  the 
completion  of  the  smelter  merely  marked  the 
beginning  of  still  more  strenuous  tasks.  Upon 
them  and  the  two  peons  would  rest  the  entire 
weight  of  running  the  smelter  at  its  full  capacity. 
Besides  the  breaking  of  the  ore,  tapping  of  the 
slag,  continuous  firing,  they  would  have  to  burn 
their  own  charcoal  after  the  first  supply  ran  out. 
Though  they  had  spread  the  strain  by  dividing 
day  and  night  into  shifts,  it  would  have  been 
work  enough  for  four  times  their  number. 

Seyd's  first  shift  ended  at  twelve  that  night, 
but,  though  he  sent  Caliban  off  to  his  sleep,  he 
himself  sat  up  to  wait  for  the  first  matte,  which 
was  due  to  come  trickling  from  the  spouts  at  any 
moment.  Reclining  his  head,  propped  on  his 
hand,  he  watched  Billy  and  Calixto,  both  now 
of  one  color,  each  at  his  task,  one  working  the 
blowers  while  the  other  dumped  fresh  ore  and 
charcoal  into  the  loading  trap.  At  such  times 
the  blast  would  send  a  burst  of  flame  high  over 
the  chimney  top,  lighting  the  house,  stables, 

115 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

green  ore  mounds,  showing  ghostly  trees  beyond 
as  under  a  calcium  glare.  Though  the  roar  of 
the  blast  fell  like  a  lullaby  on  his  tired  ears, 
excitement  kept  him  awake  till  the  first  matte 
flowed  in  a  red  stream  out  of  the  tap. 

"She'll  go  a  hundred  and  fifty  to  the  ton!" 
Billy  exclaimed,  after  a  careful  examination  of  a 
cooled  sample.  Then,  waving  his  hand  at  the 
huge  ore  mounds,  he  groaned:  "What  a  shame 
that  we  hadn't  enough  labor  and  capital.  We 
could  have  run  it  all  through  before  the  rains." 

"Pig!  Hog!"  Seyd  found  a  vent  for  his  own 
surplus  feelings  by  punching  Billy  in  the  chest. 
"Think  how  much  worse  off  we  should  have  been 
if  we  had  had  to  mine  it.  Go  down  on  your 
American  knee  bones  and  thank  your  lucky  stars 
for  the  English  Johnnies." 

Still  smiling,  he  lay  again  to  watch  the  glowing 
matte  as  Billy  ladled  it  out  of  the  well.  It  was 
the  culmination  of  their  long  labor,  but  he  was 
too  tired  even  to  think,  and,  giving  himself  up 
to  a  dim  luxurious  feeling,  he  insensibly  passed 
into  sleep. 

"  Wake  up,  Bob,  and  go  to  bed.  You  still  have 
four  hours." 

Only  half  aroused,  he  arose  and  stumbled  across 
to  the  adobe,  threw  himself  down  on  the  bunk 
without  waiting  to  remove  even  his  boots,  and 
fell  into  slumber  at  once  so  dead  and  dreamless 
that  it  seemed  as  if  his  head  had  no  more  than 

116 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

touched  the  pillow  before  Billy's  voice  again 
rang  in  his  ear. 

"Seven  o'clock,  Bob.  I  gave  you  an  extra 
hour." 

"Oh,  quit  your  joshing."  He  murmured  it, 
rolling  over,  and  was  again  almost  asleep  when 
a  sudden  report,  louder  than  thunder,  but  with  a 
peculiar  vibrant  note,  brought  him  swiftly  to  his 
feet.  A  second  later  the  door  banged  to  and 
stuck,  but  not  before  they  had  caught  a  glimpse 
of  a  huge  cloud  plume,  densely  yellow,  shooting 
upward  above  the  smelter. 

During  the  moment  required  to  wrench  the 
door  from  its  frame  the  adobe  rocked  under  the 
concussion  and  scattered  mud  bricks,  and  there 
was  a  rain  of  stores  from  the  shelves  to  the 
floor.  It  did  not  require  Caliban's  frightened 
yell  on  the  outside,  "Explosion!  Una  explosion, 
senores !"  to  tell  them  what  had  happened.  The 
first  glance,  as  they  rushed  out  over  the  broken 
door,  merely  filled  in  the  details  of  the  vivid 
mental  picture  each  had  formed  for  himself. 
Hundreds  of  feet  in  mid  air,  the  explosion  cloud 
floated  like  a  yellow  balloon  above  the  stump 
of  a  stack,  the  half-fused  bricks  of  which  were 
scattered  over  the  bench.  A  cavity  had  been 
torn  downward  through  the  solid  brick  bed  to 
the  clay  beneath,  and,  looking  down  into  it,  Seyd 
read  the  sign. 

"Dynamite!  What  was  the  last  thing  you 
did?" 

117 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Stoked  up  and  sent  Calixto  to  call  Caliban 
while  I  came  for  you.  Luckily  for  him  that  I 
did." 

The  charcoal  piles  were  also  leveled  and 
spread  over  half  an  acre,  and,  walking  to  and  fro, 
Seyd  began  to  pick  up  and  break  the  larger 
pieces.  And  it  was  only  a  few  minutes  before  he 
called  out :  "  Look  here !  Stick  dynamite,  broken 
in  two  and  gummed  over  with  charcoal  dust — a 
bushel  of  it  right  here." 

"Do  you  suppose — "  Billy  glanced  toward 
the  peons,  who  stood  close  by. 

Seyd  shook  his  head.  "No,  they  had  nothing 
to  gain  by  it,  and  everything  to  lose.  It  was  the 
easiest  thing  in  the  world  for  anybody  to  steal 
into  the  woods  at  night  and  slip  a  ton  of  this 
into  the  charcoal  piles." 

"  Man,  why  didn't  we  think  of  it  ?"  Billy  groaned. 

In  moments  of  stress  no  two  natures  will  ex 
press  themselves  in  quite  the  same  way.  As 
they  stood  looking  gloomily  over  the  wreck  big 
tears  slowly  forced  themselves  out  of  Billy's 
inflamed  eyes  and  washed  white  runnels  down  the 
soot.  Heartbroken,  he  looked  up  in  sudden 
fright  as  Seyd  burst  out  laughing. 

"Bob!  Bob!"  he  pleaded.  "Have  you  gone 
crazy?  Get  a  grip  on  yourself,  there's  a  good 
fellow!" 

But  his  pathetic  anxiety  merely  caused  Seyd 
to  laugh  the  more.  It  was  not  that  he  was 
hysterical.  Somehow  the  thought  of  the  pain 

118 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

and  travail,  trouble,  anxiety,  and  discomforts 
they  had  endured  during  the  past  three  months 
touched  his  sense  of  humor. 

"We  have  to  allow  that  they  made  a  pretty 
clean  job,"  he  said,  wiping  his  eyes.  "Let's  be 
thankful  that  you  were  out  of  the  way." 

"Where  are  you  going?"  Billy  called  out,  as  he 
began  to  walk  away. 

"To  finish  my  sleep  and  catch  up  a  few  hours 
on  all  that  I  have  lost  in  the  last  three  months. 
Take  a  nap  yourself." 

"Oh,  I  couldn't." 

He  undoubtedly  thought  so,  yet  when  Seyd 
came  out  again,  having  slept  the  clock  round, 
it  was  to  find  Billy  curled  up  and  snoring  hard 
under  the  shade  of  the  palm  mat  that  Caliban 
had  stretched  between  him  and  the  sun.  "Quit 
your  fooling,"  he  broke  in  severely  on  Seyd's 
chaffing.  "Don't  you  know  that  we  are  down 
to  our  last  dollar?" 

"Thirty-three  dollars  and  sixty  cents  Mex," 
Seyd  gravely  corrected.  Kicking  a  chunk  of 
cooled  matte,  he  added:  "But  we  now  have  this. 
It  ought  to  stake  us  for  a  new  start." 

Billy,  however,  was  not  to  be  so  easily  sepa 
rated  from  his  grief.  "Where  are  you  going  to 
raise  capital,"  he  demanded,  "with  every  spare 
dollar  in  California  locked  up  in  the  Nevada 
gold  fields?  If  this  had  happened  a  year  ago, 
before  the  Tonopah  rush,  we  might  have  done  it. 
But  now?"  He  shook  a  doleful  head. 

119 


THE    MYSTERY   OF   THE   BARRANCA 

"Well— New  York?" 

"Worse  and  more  of  it.  The  New  Yorkers 
want  all  the  bacon  for  killing  the  pig.  Might 
as  well  give  them  the  mine  at  once.  No,  Bob, 
it's  all  off.  We're  done — cooked  a  lovely  brown 
in  our  own  grease.  Why  didn't  we  guard  those 
piles!  Who  do  you  suppose  did  it?  Don  Luis?" 

Seyd  shrugged.  "Quien  sabe?  Doesn't  look 
like  his  style.  Of  one  thing,  however,  we  can 
be  certain.  Your  common  peon  doesn't  habitu 
ally  walk  around  with  dynamite  in  his  jeans.  If 
I  was  going  to  lay  any  money,  I'd  place  it  on 
your  friend  Sebastien.  But  we  haven't  any  time 
to  fool  on  detective  work.  The  question  is— 
what's  to  be  done?" 

It  was  no  light  problem.  As  Billy  had  said, 
every  dollar  of  Western  mining  capital  was  in 
vested  in  Nevada,  and  Mexican  projects,  how 
ever  good,  would  have  to  wait  till  the  new  gold 
fields  were  completely  exploited.  A  canvass  of 
moneyed  friends  yielded  no  results,  for,  while  the 
wreck  lay  there  under  their  eyes  to  emphasize  the 
possibility  of  similar  future  troubles,  they  could 
not  but  feel  it  to  be  a  hazardous  venture  for  any 
person  of  limited  means.  Night  brought  no 
conclusion.  But,  having  slept  on  it  again,  they 
arose  and  began  once  more,  unconscious  of  the 
fact  that  while  they  lay  in  the  heavy  shade  of  a 
wild  fig  tree,  proposing,  debating,  rejecting 
various  plans,  the  solution  was  fast  approaching 

upon  its  own  legs. 

120 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Obviously,  neither  of  them  recognized  the  solu 
tion  in  the  person  of  Don  Luis  when,  about  the 
middle  of  the  forenoon,  his  horse  lifted  him  up 
over  the  edge  of  the  grade.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  doubtful  whether  smiling  fortune  was  ever  met 
with  a  blacker  scowl  than  Billy's.  Growling, 
"He's  come  up  for  a  huge  gloat,"  he  would  un 
doubtedly  have  returned  some  insult  to  the  old 
man's  greeting  but  for  Seyd's  stealthy  kick  on 
the  shins. 

Prepared  as  he  was  by  the  reports  that 
charcoal-burners  had  brought  to  San  Nicolas, 
Don  Luis's  face  expressed  his  utter  astonishment 
at  the  extent  of  the  ruin.  "We  but  heard  of  it 
last  night,"  he  told  them.  "It  was,  I  suppose, 
accidental?  I  understand  that  these  furnaces- 
dynamite?  Senor?"  He  glanced  with  an  inter 
rogative  frown  at  the  peons  asleep  in  the  shade 
of  the  adobe.  "It  was  not  they?" 

Reassured  on  that  point,  he  nodded  in  con 
firmation  of  Seyd's  statement  that  it  would  be 
foolish  to  hunt  for  the  culprit.  "As  well  try  to 
single  out  a  flea  on  a  peon's  dog.  I  warned  you, 
senor,  to  expect  an  enemy  in  every  stone  of  the 
Barranca.  It  would  have  been  well  had  you 
listened.  But" — his  eyes,  hands,  and  shoulders 
expressed  his  acceptance  of  fate — "it  is  done. 
And  now?" 

"We  shall  rebuild — as  soon  as  we  can  raise  the 
money." 

Turning  to  survey  the  destruction,  Don  Luis 
121 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

hid  a  sudden  gleam  that  was  evenly  compounded 
of  admiration  and  irritation.  When  he  spoke 
again,  shrewd  calculation  peered  from  his  half- 
closed  eyes.  "This  time  you  will  build  a 
larger—" 

"—Plant?"     Seyd  supplied  the  word.     "No." 

"But  I  am  told,  senor,  that  the  larger  the 
plant  the  greater  the  profits." 

Seyd  raised  comical  brows.  "Fifty  thousand 
dollars,  senor — gold?" 

"A  small  sum  to  your  rich  American  capi 
talists." 

"But  we  are  not  capitalists.  No,  we  shall 
have  to  get  along  with  a  small  furnace." 

The  calculation  deepened  in  the  old  man's 
brown  eyes.  After  a  pause,  to  their  utter  as 
tonishment,  it  took  form  in  words.  "But  if  you 
could  raise  the  money?" 

"What's  the  use  of  talking;  we  can't." 

"If  I  were  to  lend  it  to  you?" 

"  You!"  It  was  Billy  who  expressed  their 
wonder.  Seyd  added,  after  a  pause,  "But  we 
have  no  security  to  offer — that  is,  nothing  but 
the  mine." 

"And  if  we  ran  away?"  Billy  suggested,  grin 
ning.  "  Took  your  money  and  never  came  back?" 

For  the  first  time  in  their  acquaintance  a 
touch  of  humor  lightened  the  heavy  bronzed  face. 
"  There  are  some  in  this  valley,  senor,  who  might 
not  count  it  too  high  a  price.  But  as  you  say" 
he  bowed  to  Seyd — "the  mine  is  security  enough. 

122 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Now  that  you  have  shown  how,  I  might  even 
work  it  myself.  To  put  in  a  complete — " 

" — Plant."    Billy  supplied  the  strange  word. 

"How  long?" 

"Between  six  and  nine  months.  We  should 
then  require  a  little  time  to  smelt  some  ore  and 
realize.  We  could  not — " 

"Si,  si!"  In  his  impatience  Don  Luis  relapsed 
into  Spanish.  "Si,  one  would  not  expect  imme 
diate  repayment.  Perhaps  five  thousand  pesos 
at  the  end  of  a  year — " 

"Oh,  we  could  do  better  than  that.  Ten 
thousand  of  a  first  payment,  fifteen  for  the  second, 
the  remainder  at  a  third  with  interest — " 

"Interest?  I  had  not  thought  of  that."  But 
he  yielded  to  their  insistence.  "Very  well,  if 
you  will  have  it!  Shall  we  say  five  per  cent.? 
Bueno!  You  will,  of  course,  have  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  United  States  to  buy  your  material. 
If  you  will  call  at  San  Nicolas  on  your  way  the 
administrator  will  have  letters  prepared  to  my 
bankers  in  Ciudad,  Mexico." 

With  a  shrug  that  expressed  relief  at  the  con 
clusion  he  changed  the  subject.  Riding  forward 
to  obtain  a  closer  view  of  the  furnace,  he  again 
clucked  his  surprise  at  the  complete  destruction, 
wagged  a  grave  head  over  the  half  bushel  of 
dynamite  that  the  peons  had  picked  out  of  the 
charcoal,  curiously  examined  a  piece  of  copper 
matte,  lifting  heavy  brows  over  the  statement 
of  its  values,  then  rode  quietly  away,  leaving 

9  123 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Seyd  and  Billy  to  recover  as  best  they  could 
from  this  fortunate  stroke. 

"Am  I  dreaming?"  Billy's  exclamation  de 
fined  their  mental  condition.  "Hit  me,  Bob. 
I  want  to  make  sure  that  I'm  awake." 

Convinced,  he  gasped  with  his  first  breath: 
"Fifty  thousand  dollars!  By  golly!  Why,  we 
can  put  in  a  complete  outfit." 

"Reverberatories  with  water  jackets."  Seyd 
took  up  the  tale  again.  "We'll  build  down  in 
the  valley." 

"Aerial  cable—" 

" — With  iron  self -dumping  buckets — " 

" — A  flat-bottomed  stern  wheeler  to — " 

" — Take  our  copper  down  to  the  coast." 

Blinded  by  the  sudden  light  that  had  flashed 
out  of  their  black  despair  they  stood  for  some 
time  looking  out  over  the  Barranca  with  shin 
ing  eyes  which  saw  a  small  mining  town 
rising  out  of  the  jungle's  tangles.  It  was 
fully  ten  minutes  before  Seyd  came  back  to 
earth. 

"I  wonder  what  is  behind  all  this?  Seems 
rather  funny  that  the  old  chap  should  come  to 
our  help?" 

"Not  knowing,  can't  say  and  don't  care  a  darn! 
So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  at  fifty  thousand  a 
throw  he  can  be  just  as  inconsistent  as  he  jolly 
well  likes." 

"Nevertheless,"  Seyd  mused,  "I'd  give  three 
cents  to  know." 

124 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Meanwhile,  Don  Luis  pursued  his  quiet  way, 
now  at  a  heavy  canter,  again  on  a  stately  trot, 
through  the  jungle  out  to  the  first  village  beyond 
the  forks  of  the  trail.  As  he  passed  the  little 
fpjida  Sebastien  Rocha  rode  out  from  a  group 
of  rancheros  who  stood  drinking  at  the  rough  bar. 

"They  told  me  of  the  passing,"  he  said,  nod 
ding  backward.  "And  I  waited.  What  news? 
Did  the  gringos  go  up  with  their  furnace?  No? 
Still  they  will  now  have  their  bellies  full  of 
Guerrero?" 

But  his  face  dropped  at  Don  Luis's  answer. 
"No,  they  are  to  build  again." 

"But  I  thought — was  it  not  the  agent  at  the 
station  who  said  they  had  no  money?" 

"Neither  had  they."  It  was  always  difficult 
to  read  the  massive  face,  but  now  it  expressed 
just  a  shade  of  malicious  amusement.  "I  have 
lent  them  fifty  thousand  pesos." 

"Thou!"  For  once  the  man's  usual  cynical 
calm  was  completely  disrupted.  In  his  vast 
astonishment  he  whispered  it:  "Thou?  Fifty 
thousand  pesos?" 

"Fo."  Smiling  slightly,  he  went  on:  "Now 
listen,  Sebastien.  Not  to  mention  thy  little 
attempt  on  their  virtue,  this  is  the  third  on  their 
lives,  and  all  badly  bungled.  So  do  not  wonder 
that  I  thought  it  time  to  take  them  into  my  own 
hand.  Now  that  they  are  there,  let  there  be  no 
mistake — the  meddling  finger  is  likely  to  be 
badly  pinched.  From  this  time — they  are  mine. 

125 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"But — why  give  them  money?" 

"To  forestall  others."  Had  he  been  there  to 
hear,  the  following  words  would  fully  have  an 
swered  Seyd's  question.  "The  elder  of  these 
lads  is  no  common  man.  By  hook  or  by  crook 
he  would  have  raised  a  company — if  he  had  to 
rope  and  tie  down  his  men  on  the  run.  Then, 
instead  of  these  two,  we  should  have  a  dozen 
gringos,  with  Porfirio  and  his  rurales  to  back  up 
their  charter.  But  do  not  fear." 

From  the  cleared  fields  through  which  they  were 
riding  it  was  possible  to  see  Santa  Gertrudis,  and, 
turning  in  his  saddle,  he  extended  his  quirt 
toward  its  green  scar. 

"Do  not  fear." 


CHAPTER  XI 

IT  was  in  the  middle  of  the  rainy  season. 
Stepping  out  of  his  office,  where  he  had  just 
added  a  few  drops  of  Scotch  to  the  water  he 
was  absorbing  at  every  pore,  the  station  agent 
came  face  to  face  with  the  engineer  of  the  down 
train. 

"Nine  hours  late?"  The  engineer  gruffly  re 
peated  the  other's  comment.  "We  are  lucky  to 
be  here  at  all.  Besides  being  sopping  wet,  the 
wood  we're  burning  is  that  dosey  it  'd  make  a 
fireproof  curtain  for  hell.  This  kind  of  railroad 
ing  don't  suit  my  book,  and  I'm  telling  you  that 
if  they  don't  serve  us  out  something  pretty  soon 
that  smells  like  wood  I  know  one  fat  engineer  that 
will  be  missing  on  this  line."  Jerking  his  thumb 
at  the  lone  passenger  who  had  descended  at  the 
station,  he  added:  "But  for  that  chap  we'd 
never  have  got  through.  When  the  track  went 
out  from  under  us  at  La  Puente  he  pitched  in  and 
showed  us  no  end  of  wrinkles.  If  you've  got 
anything  inside  just  give  him  a  nip  for  me." 

"  Hullo,  Mr.  Seyd !"  Coming  face  to  face  with 
the  passenger  after  the  train  had  gone  on,  the 
agent  thrust  out  his  hand.  "What  a  pity  you 

127 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

weren't  on  the  other  train.  She  was  twenty 
hours  late — in  fact,  only  pulled  out  a  couple  of 
hours  ago.  Miss  Francesca  was  aboard,  and  she 
just  left." 

"Not  alone?" 

The  agent  laughed.  "Sure!  She  don't  care. 
Three  weeks  ago  she  came  galloping  in  through 
one  of  the  heaviest  rains  and  took  the  up  train." 

"So  she  has  been  home  since  I  left?" 

"Let  me  see — that's  nigh  on  three  months, 
isn't  it?  Sure,  she  came  home  just  after  you 
left." 

With  this  bit  of  information  lingering  in  the 
forefront  of  his  mind  Seyd,  a  little  later,  rode 
out  from  the  station.  Not  that  it  engrossed,  by 
any  means,  the  whole  of  his  thought.  Even  had 
he  been  free,  the  hard  work  and  bitter  disap 
pointment  of  the  first  venture,  and  the  equally 
hard  thought  and  careful  planning  for  the  second 
during  his  long  absence  in  the  States,  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  keep  her  in  the  background. 
If  he  had  never  happened  to  see  Francesca  again 
she  would  probably  have  lingered  as  an  unusu 
ally  pretty  face  in  the  gallery  of  his  mind.  While 
it  was  only  natural  that  he  should  wonder  if  the 
news  that  he  sent  in  by  Caliban  had  ever  reached 
her  ear,  it  was  merely  a  passing  thought.  His 
mind  soon  turned  again  to  his  plans.  Up  to  the 
moment  that,  four  hours  later,  he  came  slipping 
and  sliding  downhill  upon  her  she  was  altogether 
out  of  his  thought. 

128 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

For  that  very  reason  his  fresh  senses  leaped  to 
take  the  picture  she  made  standing  in  the  gray 
sheeting  rain  beside  her  fallen  horse,  and  through 
its  very  difference  from  either  the  tan  riding 
habit  or  virginal  batiste  of  his  memory  her  loose 
waterproof  with  its  capote  hood  helped  to  stamp 
this  figure  upon  his  brain.  Before  she  said  a 
word  he  had  gone  back  to  the  feelings  of  four 
months  ago. 

The  pelting  rain  had  washed  all  but  a  few  clay 
streaks  off  her  coat.  Touching  them,  she  ex 
plained:  "The  poor  beast  fell  under  me.  I  fear 
it  has  broken  a  leg." 

While  speaking  she  offered  her  hand;  and  if 
that  had  not  been  sufficient,  her  friendly  smile 
more  than  answered  his  speculation.  Caliban's 
niece  had  certainly  done  her  duty!  Indeed, 
while  he  was  stooping  over  the  fallen  animal  a 
quick  glance  upward  would  have  given  him  a 
look  evenly  compounded  of  mischief  and  remorse. 
It  gave  place  to  sudden  sorrow  when  he  spoke. 

"It  is  broken,  all  right.  There  is  only  one 
thing  to  be  done.  If  you  will  lead  my  horse 
around  the  shoulder  of  the  hill  I  will  put  the  poor 
thing  out  of  its  pain." 

Her  life  had  been  cast  too  much  in  the  open  for 
her  to  be  ignorant  of  the  needs  of  the  case. 
Nevertheless,  he  saw  that  her  eyes  were  brimming 
as  she  led  his  horse  away;  and,  remembering 
their  black  fire  on  the  day  that  she  had  ordered 
the  charcoal-burners  flogged,  he  wondered.  It 

129 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

would  have  been  even  harder  to  reconcile  the 
two  impressions  had  he  seen  the  tears  rolling 
down  her  cheeks  when  the  muffled  report  of  his 
pistol  followed  her  around  the  hill.  But  she  had 
wiped  them  away  before  he  rejoined  her.  If  the 
sensitive  red  mouth  trembled,  her  voice  was  under 
control. 

"No,  I  had  not  waited  long,"  she  answered  his 
question.  "You  see,  the  poor  creature  lost  a 
shoe  earlier  in  the  day,  and  I  had  to  ride  back 
to  have  it  replaced.  It  would  have  been  better 
had  I  stayed  there." 

For  the  moment  he  was  puzzled.  An  hour  ago 
he  had  ridden  past  the  last  habitation,  a  flimsy 
hut  already  overcrowded  with  the  peon,  his  wife, 
their  children,  chickens,  and  pigs.  All  around 
them  stretched  wide  wastes  of  volcanic  rock  and 
scrub.  They  were,  as  he  knew,  on  the  hacienda 
San  Angel,  but  the  buildings  lay  five  leagues  to 
the  north.  With  hard  riding  he  had  expected 
to  make  the  inn  at  the  foot  of  the  Barranca  wall 
that  night.  She  might  do  it  by  taking  his  horse. 
But  if  anything  went  wrong?  She  would  be 
alone — all  night — in  the  rain!  He  felt  easier 
when  she  refused  the  offer  of  his  beast. 

"And  leave  you  to  walk?    No,  sir." 

A  second  offer  to  walk  by  her  side  not  only  ran 
counter  to  the  prejudice  of  a  race  of  riders,  but 
also  aroused  her  sympathies.  "I  could  never 
think  of  it!"  After  a  moment  of  thought  she 
propounded  her  own  solution.  "Your  beast  is 

130 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

strong.  I  have  ridden  double  on  an  animal  half 
his  size.  We  will  both  ride." 

Now,  though  Seyd  had  long  ago  grown  to  the 
'sight  of  rancheros  on  their  way  to  market  in  the 
embrace  of  their  buxom  brown  wives,  the  sud 
denness  of  it  made  him  gasp.  But  by  a  quick 
mounting  he  succeeded  in  hiding  the  rush  of 
blood  to  his  face.  Also  he  managed  to  control 
his  voice. 

"Fine  idea!     Give  me  your  hand." 

Just  touching  his  foot,  she  rose  like  a  bird  to 
the  croup.  When,  as  the  horse  moved  on,  she 
slid  an  arm  around  his  waist  his  demoralization 
was  full  and  complete.  If  he  glanced  down 
it  was  to  see  her  fingers  resting  like  small  white 
butterflies  on  his  raincoat.  Did  he  look  up,  then 
a  faint  perfume  of  damp  hair  would  come  float 
ing  over  his  shoulder.  He  thrilled  when  her 
clasp  tightened  as  the  horse  broke  into  a  gentle 
trot,  and  was  altogether  in  a  bad  way  when  her 
merry  laugh  restored  order  among  his  senses. 

"Now  we  can  play  Rosa  and  Rosario  on  their 
way  to  market.  It  will  be  for  you  to  grumble  at 
prices  while  I  rail  at  the  government  tax  that 
puts  woolens  beyond  the  purse  of  a  peon." 

"I  prefer  to  ask  what  brought  you  out  in  such 
weather."  He  returned  her  laugh.  "A  pretty 
pickle  you  would  have  been  in  if  I  had  not  come 
along." 

He  felt  the  vigorous  shake  of  her  head.  "I 
should  have  walked  back  to  the  last  hut,  and 

131 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

an  oxcart  would  have  taken  me  in  to  the  sta 
tion." 

"But  then  you  would  have  been  out  all  night." 

"I  should  have  loved  it."  Though  he  did  not 
see  the  sudden  blooming  under  her  hood,  he  felt 
the  unconscious  squeeze  which  testified  to  the 
sincerity  of  her  feeling.  "I  love  them — the  roar 
of  the  wind,  black  darkness,  the  beat  of  the  rain 
in  my  face.  Mother  would  have  had  me  stay  in 
Mexico  till  the  rains  were  over,  but  when  Don 
Luis  wrote  that  the  river  was  at  flood  nothing 
could  hold  me."  He  had  thrilled  under  her  un 
conscious  pressure,  but  her  conclusion  proved  an 
excellent  corrective.  "I  am  afraid  that  the  site 
for  your  new  buildings  must  be  under  water." 

"How  can  that  be?"  He  spoke  quickly. 
"We  are  building  well  back  from  last  year's  mark, 
and  Don  Luis  said  that  it  was  the  highest 
known." 

"But  this  year  it  has  gone  even  higher — and 
all  because  of  the  Yankee  companies  that  are 
stripping  the  upper  valley  of  timber.  There  were 
great  fires,  too,  last  year  which  broke  away  from 
their  servants  and  burned  hundreds  of  miles  of 
woods." 

Her  quiet  answer  went  far  to  allay  his  sudden 
suspicion,  but  not  his  anxiety.  He  spoke  of 
Billy.  "It  is  over  a  month  since  he  came  out 
to  the  station  for  stores,  and  the  agent  told  me 
that  none  of  your  people  had  seen  him  for  weeks." 

"But  he   has   with   him  Angelo" — she  gave 

132 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Caliban  his  correct  name — "and  he,  as  I  once 
told  you,  was  counted  Sebastien's  best  man  in 
his  war  against  the  brigands.  Though  he  may 
not  show  it  to  you,  he  is  not  ungrateful  for  the 
gift  of  his  life.  If  food  is  to  be  had  in  the  country, 
Mr.  Thornton  will  not  go  lacking." 

He  spoke  more  cheerfully.  "  Then  I  don't  care ; 
though  if  the  site  is  flooded  we  shall  be  thrown 
back  at  least  three  months  with  our  work." 

"And  what  is  three  months?"  she  added, 
laughing. 

To  him  it  was  a  great  deal.  Before  paying 
over  the  loan  Don  Luis's  lawyers  had  taken 
Seyd's  signatures  upon  certain  instruments  which 
exhibited  the  General  in  the  new  light  of  a  shrewd 
and  conservative  business  man.  Withal,  having 
still  plenty  of  time,  he  answered  quite  cheerfully 
when  she  turned  the  conversation  with  a  question 
concerning  his  plans.  Under  the  stimulation  of 
her  curiosity,  which  surprised  him  by  its  intelli 
gence,  he  went  into  details,  talking  and  answering 
her  questions  while  the  horse  trudged  steadily 
on  into  the  darkening  rain.  If  the  trail  had  not 
suddenly  faded  out,  night  would  have  caught 
them  unnoticed. 

In  that  volcanic  country,  where  for  long 
stretches  a  hoof  left  no  impression,  the  loss  of  a 
trail  was  a  common  experience,  and,  trusting 
to  the  instinct  of  the  beast,  Seyd  gave  it  the  rein. 
Left  to  its  own  devices,  however,  it  gradually 
swerved  from  the  beating  rain  and  presently 

133 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

turned  on  to  a  cattle  track  which  swung  away 
into  gum  copal  trees  and  scrub  oak  at  an  im 
perceptible  angle.  Had  he  been  alone  Seyd 
would  have  soon  noticed  the  absence  of  the 
Aztec  ruin.  As  it  was,  but  not  until  an  hour 
later,  Francesca  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"That's  so,"  he  agreed,  when  she  drew  his  at 
tention.  "We  ought  to  have  passed  it  long 
ago.  The  animal  evidently  picked  up  a  wrong 
track  coming  out  from  the  rocks."  After  a 
moment's  reflection  he  said:  "It  would  be  worse 
than  foolish  to  try  to  go  back.  We  could  never 
find  the  trail  in  this  black  rain.  Better  follow 
on  and  see  where  it  will  bring  us."  With  a  sud 
den  remembrance  of  what  it  might  mean  to  her, 
a  young  girl  brought  up  in  the  rigid  conventions 
of  the  country,  he  repentantly  added:  "I'm 
awfully  sorry  for  you.  I  ought  to  be  kicked  for 
my  carelessness." 

"No,  I  have  traveled  this  trail  much  oftener 
than  you,"  she  quietly  protested.  "If  any  one 
is  blamed  I  should  be  the  one." 

Sitting  there  in  black  darkness,  lost  in  those 
lonely  volcanic  hills,  with  the  rain  dashing  in  his 
face  and  the  roar  of  the  wind  in  his  ears,  he  was 
prepared  to  appreciate  her  quiet  answer.  "You 
are  a  brick!"  he  exclaimed.  "Nevertheless,  I 
feel  my  guilt." 

"Then  you  need  not."  She  gave  a  little 
laugh.  "Did  I  not  say  that  I  enjoyed  being  out 
at  night  in  the  rain?" 

134 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   THE   BARRANCA 

"And  now  the  gods  have  called  your  bluff." 

"Bluff?"  She  laughed  again  at  the  meaning 
of  that  rank  Americanism.  "It  was  no  bluff,  as 
you  will  presently  see." 

And  see  he  did — during  the  long  hour  they 
spent  splashing  along  in  black  darkness,  up 
hill,  down  dale,  fording  swollen  arroyos,  through 
chaparral  which  tore  at  them  with  myriad  claws 
and  wet  woods  whose  boughs  lashed  their  faces. 
Up  to  the  moment  that  the  roof  of  a  hut  suddenly 
loomed  out  against  the  dim,  dark  sky  she  uttered 
no  doubt  or  complaint.  When,  having  tied  his 
horse  under  the  wide  eaves,  he  lit  a  match 
inside,  its  flare  revealed  her  face,  quiet  and 
serene. 

Also  it  showed  that  which,  while  not  nearly  so 
interesting,  had  its  immediate  uses — a  candle 
stuck  in  a  tequila  bottle;  and  its  steadier  flare 
presently  helped  them  to  another  find — a  chemis 
ette  and  other  garments  of  feminine  wear,  spot 
lessly  clean  and  smoothly  ironed,  arranged  on  a 
string  that  ran  over  a  bunk  in  one  corner. 

"The  fiesta  wear  of  our  hostess,"  Francesca 
remarked.  "How  lucky!  for  I  am  drenched." 

"And  look  at  that  pile  of  dry  wood!"  he 
exclaimed.  "The  gods  are  with  us.  I'll  build 
a  fire,  then  while  I  rub  down  the  horse  you 
can  change.  What's  this?" 

It  was  a  rough  sketch  done  with  charcoal  on 
the  table.  Two  parallelograms  with  sticks  for 
legs  were  in  furious  pursuit  of  certain  horned 

135 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

squares  which,  in  their  turn,  were  in  full  flight 
toward  a  doll's  house  in  the  far  corner. 

"Oh,  I  know!"  the  girl  cried,  after  a  moment  of 
study.  "Here,  in  the  wild  country  where  they 
never  see  man,  are  raised  the  fighting  bulls  for 
the  rings  of  Mexico.  This  hut  belongs  to  a 
vaquero  of  San  Angel,  and  this  is  an  order,  left 
in  his  absence,  to  drive  the  bulls  into  the  ha 
cienda."  Laying  her  finger  on  a  triangle  which 
had  evidently  been  added  later,  she  continued, 
laughing:  "This  shows  that  his  woman  has  gone 
with  him.  They  were  evidently  called  away  un 
expectedly,  for  she  had  already  set  the  corn  to 
soak  in  this  olla  for  the  supper  tortillas.  And 
the  saints  be  praised!  Here  are  dried  beef,  salt, 
and  chilis.  Now  hurry  the  fire,  and  you  shall  see 
what  a  cook  I  am." 

While  he  was  building  it  in  the  center  of  the 
mud  floor  she  made  other  finds — a  cube  of  brown 
sugar,  coffee,  a  cake  of  goat's  cheese;  and  her 
little  delighted  exclamations  over  each  dis 
covery  both  amused  him  and  proved  how  sincere 
was  her  acceptance  of  the  situation.  "She's  a 
brick!"  he  told  the  horse,  rubbing  him  down,  out 
side,  with  wisps  pulled  out  from  the  under  side  of 
the  thatch.  "Thoroughbred  in  blood  and  bone." 
As  the  animal  had  already  experimented  with  the 
thatch  and  found  it  quite  to  its  liking,  the  ques 
tion  of  provender  was  settled.  But  in  order  that 
Francesca  might  have  ample  time  to  change, 
Seyd  rubbed  and  rubbed  and  rubbed  till  a 

136 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

rattle  of  clay  pots  inside  gave  him  leave  to 
come  in. 

At  the  door  he  paused  to  admire  the  picture 
she  made  in  the  red  glow  of  the  fire.  In  place 
of  the  slender  girl  of  the  stylish  raincoat  a  pretty 
peona  raised  velvet  eyes  from  the  stone  metate 
on  which  she  was  vigorously  rubbing  soaked  corn 
for  the  supper  tortillas.  By  emphasizing  some 
features  and  softening  others  strange  attire  al 
ways  gives  a  new  view  of  a  woman.  The  sleeve 
less  garment  showed  the  round  white  arms  and 
foreshortened  and  filled  out  her  slender  lines. 

Glancing  down  at  her  arms,  she  confessed,  with 
an  uneasy  wriggle:  "I  don't  like  it,  though  I  wear 
decollete  every  evening  when  we  are  in  the  city. 
But  I  shall  soon  get  used  to  it." 

Conscious  of  his  admiring  eyes,  she  found  them 
employment  in  watching  the  tortillas.  But, 
having  grown  accustomed  to  the  new  dress  by 
the  time  supper  was  ready,  she  left  him  free  to 
watch  the  white  arms  and  small  hands  which 
hovered  like  butterflies  over  the  clay  pot.  In 
the  lack  of  all  other  utensils,  they  used  bits  of 
tortilla  for  spoons,  dipping  alternately  into  the 
pot  which  she  had  set  between  them;  nor  did  he 
find  the  chili  any  the  worse  for  its  contact  with 
the  tortilla  which  had  just  taken  an  impression  of 
her  small  teeth.  It  required  only  an  after-dinner 
pipe,  to  which  she  graciously  consented,  to  seal 
his  content. 

After  the  wet  and  fatigue  of  the  trail  the 

137 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

warmth  and  cheer  of  food  and  fire  were  extremely 
grateful,  but  not  conducive  to  talk.  While  he 
sat  watching  the  tobacco  smoke  curl  up  into  the 
blackened  peak  of  the  roof  she  leaned,  chin  in  her 
hands,  elbows  on  crossed  knees,  studying  the 
fire.  Leaping  out  of  red  coal,  an  occasional 
flame  set  its  reflection  in  her  deep  eyes,  and  as 
his  gaze  wandered  from  her  around  the  rough 
jacal  Seyd  found  it  difficult  to  realize  that  it  was 
indeed  he,  Robert  Seyd,  mining  engineer  of  San 
Francisco,  who  sat  there  sharing  food  and  fire 
with  a  girl,  on  the  one  hand  scion  of  the  Mexican 
aristocracy,  descendant  on  the  other  of  a  line 
which  ran  back  into  the  dim  time  of  the  Aztecs. 
The  thought  stirred  the  romance  within  him  and 
helped  to  prolong  his  silence.  It  would  have  held 
him  still  longer  if  his  musings  had  not  been  sud 
denly  interrupted  by  her  merry  laugh. 

"Si?"  he  inquired,  looking  suddenly  up. 

"I  was  thinking  what  they  would  say — my 
mother,  Don  Luis,  the  neighbors?" 

"Horrible!"  he  agreed.  "Your  mother?  What 
would  she  say?" 

As  the  white  hands  flew  up  in  a  horrified  ges 
ture  it  was  the  senora  herself.  "Santa  Maria 
Marissima!" 

"And  Don  Luis?" 

Her  expression  changed  from  laughter  into 
sudden  mischievous  demureness.  "His  remarks, 
senor,  are  not  for  me  to  repeat." 

"Well— the  neighbors?" 

138 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Once  more  her  hands  went  up.  "'Was  it  not 
that  we  always  said  it  of  that  mad  girl!  Maria, 
thou  shalt  not  speak  with  her  again.' "  Smiling, 
she  added,  "For  you  must  know,  senor,  that  I 
have  been  held  as  a  horrible  example  of  the  things 
a  girl  should  not  do  since  the  days  of  my  child 
hood." 

"Like  the  devil  in  the  old  New  England 
theology,"  he  suggested,  smiling,  "you  make 
more  converts  than  the  preacher?" 

He  had  to  explain  before  she  understood. 
Then  she  laughed  merrily.  "Just  so.  What 
they  would  do  were  I  to  marry,  die,  or  reform,  I 
really  cannot  tell.  It  would  leave  a  gap  almost 
equal  to  the  loss  of  the  catechism."  She  finished 
with  a  mock  sigh,  "They  will  never  appreciate 
me  till  I'm  dead." 

"Any  present  danger?" 

The  smiling  mouth  pursed  demurely  under  his 
whimsical  glance.  "I  am  afraid  not.  You  saw 
my  performance  at  supper.  I  am  the  despair  of 
my  mother,  who  would  have  me  more  delicate 
and  refined." 

"Marriage?" 

"No  one  wants  me." 

"Don  Sebastien?" 

It  slipped  out,  and  he  was  immediately  sorry, 
but  she  only  laughed.  "Tut!  tut!  A  cousin?" 

Surveying  him  from  under  drooping  lashes,  a 
glance  soft  and  warm  as  velvet,  she  added:  "I 
will  confess.  There  were  others.  Some  too  fat, 

10  139 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

some  too  thin,  all  too  stupid,  here  at  home.  In 
Mexico  they  were  triflers — or  worse.  But  on  the 
honor  of  a  lone  maid,  sefior,  never  a  man  among 
them."  With  a  sudden  relapse  into  seriousness 
she  repeated,  "Among  all  of  them — never  a  man." 
Though  she  was  looking  directly  at  him,  her 
glance  seemed  to  go  on,  fly  to  some  further  vision 
which,  for  one  second,  set  its  reflection  in  her 
eyes.  Then  her  long  silky  lashes  wiped  it  out. 
When  they  rose  again  it  was  over  mischievous 
lights.  "Never  a  man"  with  a  change  of  accent. 

"But  he  will  come — some  day,"  he  teased. 

"And  go — after  the  fashion  of  dream  men." 

"And  dream  women." 

For  a  while  she  studied  him  curiously.  "Then 
she  has  not  come?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  with  sudden  impulse. 
"But—" 

She  softly  filled  the  pause.     "'But'  and  'be 


cause'  are  woman's  reasons." 


"Unhappily,  sometimes  man's,"  he  gravely 
answered;  and,  feeling,  perhaps,  that  the  conver 
sation  was  drifting  into  unsafe  latitudes,  he  rose 
and  began  to  pull  dry  grass  from  the  under  side 
of  the  thatch.  "For  you,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a 
glance  at  the  bunk.  "I  knew  you  wouldn't  care 
to  sleep  there." 

Having  arranged  a  thick  layer  at  a  safe  dis 
tance  from  the  fire,  he  gathered  another  armful, 
and  was  going  outside  when  she  called  him  back. 
"To  make  my  bed,"  he  answered  her  question. 

140 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   THE    BARRANCA 

"In  the  wet?" 

"  Oh,  it  isn't  so  bad — here  under  the  eaves." 

"Only  an  inch  of  water,"  she  answered  him, 
with  pretty  sarcasm;  and,  indicating  certain 
small  trickles  that  were  coming  through  the  cane 
siding,  she  gave  him  his  orders.  "You  will  sleep 
here — inside." 

"But—"  he  began. 

"Senor,  I  said  that  you  would  sleep  inside." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  "prospect"  outside 
was  not  inviting,  and  his  acquiescence  lowered 
the  quick  colors  his  previous  obstinacy  had  raised. 
She  had  already  settled  down  on  one  elbow;  and 
when,  having  arranged  a  bed  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  fire,  he  lit  a  second  pipe,  she  studied  him 
through  the  smoke,  wondering  what  pictures  were 
responsible  for  his  earnest  gaze.  But  warmth  and 
comfort  presently  produced  their  natural  effect, 
and  she  began  to  nod.  After  a  few  shy,  sleepy 
glances  that  showed  him  still  staring  moodily 
into  the  fire  her  head  sank  upon  the  white  fullness 
of  her  doubled  arm. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  his  wife's  face  that 
returned  his  steady  gaze  from  a  nest  of  red  coal. 
Absorbed  in  bitter  musings,  he  received  the  first 
intimation  of  Francesca's  sleep  from  a  sigh  which 
caused  him  to  start  as  though  at  the  report  of  a 
gun.  Then  while  the  warm  blood  streamed 
through  his  drumming  pulses,  every  sense  vividly 
alive,  he  looked  down  upon  her.  With  all  the 
timid  awe  that  Adam  must  have  displayed  when 

141 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

he  awoke  to  the  sight  of  Eve  he  studied  this 
greatest  of  masculine  experiences,  a  woman  clad 
in  the  soft  armor  of  sleep. 

For  some  time  his  senses  dwelt  only  on  the 
fact,  and  gave  him  merely  the  soft  sigh  of  her 
sleep,  the  play  of  firelight  over  the  unconscious 
figure.  But  presently  his  mind  began  to  work, 
to  compare  the  broad  forehead,  oval  contours, 
fine-cut  nostrils,  delicate  chiseling  of  her  features, 
with  the  common  prettiness  of  his  wife.  Even 
the  little  foot  and  slender  ankle,  freed  by  relaxa 
tion  from  the  jealous  skirt,  helped  to  emphasize 
differences  wide  as  those  between  a  humming 
bird  and  a  pouter  pigeon.  It  had  required  the 
rigid  selection  of  a  thousand  generations,  the 
pre-eminence  in  strength  and  brains  of  a  line  of 
fighters  to  produce  the  one,  just  as  the  slacker 
choice  of  a  commoner  breed  had  created  the 
other;  and  Seyd,  whose  own  blood  had  come 
down  through  the  clean  channels  of  good  Colonial 
stock,  recognized  the  fact.  As  never  before  he  was 
impressed  with  the  fatuity  of  his  chivalric  rashness. 
While  the  firelight  rose  and  fell  he  strained  at  the 
ties  which  stretched  over  mountains,  desert,  plains, 
binding  him  to  the  coarse  woman  in  Albuquerque. 

His  sudden  jerk  forward  was  the  physical 
equivalent  of  his  mental  strain.  Though  homely, 
even  slangy,  his  mutter,  "Your  cake  is  baked, 
son.  The  sooner  you  let  this  girl  know  it  the 
better,"  was  none  the  less  tragic.  The  thought 
was  the  last  in  his  waking  mind. 

142 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Before  going  to  sleep  he  performed  one  last 
service.  Noticing  that  she  shivered  under  the 
wet  breath  of  the  night,  he  took  off  his  coat,  tip 
toed  across,  and,  after  laying  it  softly  across  her 
shoulders,  returned  with  equal  caution.  She  did 
not  stir  or  even  change  the  slow  rhythm  of  her 
breath,  but  he  had  no  more  than  lain  down  before 
her  eyes  slowly  opened.  When  his  deep  respira 
tions  told  that  he  was  fast  asleep  she  rose  on  one 
elbow  and  looked  at  him  across  the  fire. 

In  her  turn,  with  glances  shyly  curious  as  those 
with  which  Eve,  newly  formed,  may  have  eyed 
Adam  still  in  "deep  sleep,"  she  noted  the  wide- 
spaced,  deep-set  eyes,  strong  nose,  the  ideality 
of  the  brows,  the  humorous  puckers  at  the  corners 
of  his  mouth.  Though  she  did  not  analyze  their 
individual  meanings,  the  totality  made  a  strong 
appeal  to  instinct  and  intuitions  formed  by  the 
vast  experience  of  the  race.  Her  impression 
phrased  itself  in  her  murmur,  "A  wholesome 
face." 

Only  the  cleft  chin  seemed  to  carry  a  special 
meaning.  Surveying  it,  a  gleam  of  mischief  shot 
through  the  soft  satisfaction  of  her  look,  and  she 
murmured  beneath  her  breath  in  Spanish,  "Oh, 
fickle!  fickle!  Thy  wife  will  need  the  sharpest 
of  eyes." 

The  thought  brought  a  little  laugh,  and  for  a 
minute  thereafter  she  sat,  a  finger  upon  her  lip, 
listening  for  a  break  in  his  breathing.  "When  it 
did  not  come  she  rose  slowly,  stole  like  a  mouse 

143 


THE  MYSTERY  OP  THE  BARRANCA 

across  the  floor,  and  laid  his  coat,  light  as  a 
feather,  over  his  unprotected  shoulders.  Back 
again  on  her  own  couch,  she  looked  across  at  him 
again;  a  glance  naive  in  its  enjoyment  of  the 
romantic  impropriety  of  the  entire  proceeding. 
Then,  curling  up  under  her  raincoat,  she  fell  fast 
asleep. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THOROUGHLY  fagged  out  by  six  weary 
nights  on  the  train,  Seyd  slept  like  the  dead, 
and  did  not  awaken  until  a  sudden  clatter  of  pots 
aroused  him  to  knowledge  of  a  golden  cobweb  of 
light  streaming  in  between  the  flimsy  siding  of  the 
hut.  Through  the  open  doorway  he  obtained  a 
glimpse  of  a  bejeweled  world,  resonant  with  the 
song  of  birds.  After  informing  him  of  these  facts, 
his  eyes  reintroduced  him  to  the  young  lady  in 
the  tan  riding  habit  who  had  ousted  the  pretty 
peona  of  last  night  from  her  command  over  fire 
and  dishes.  The  satisfying  odor  of  hot  coffee 
completed  the  verdict  of  his  senses. 

"Breakfast  all  ready?  I  must  have  slept  like 
a  log." 

"You  did."  She  laughed.  "I  rattled  the 
dishes  in  vain.  I  was  just  about  to  throw  some 
thing  at  you." 

Now,  his  last  waking  thought  had  outlined  a 
purpose  to  inform  her  at  once  of  his  marriage, 
and  while  they  were  eating  breakfast  it  recurred 
again.  But  not  with  the  same  force.  That 
which,  when  imbued  with  the  sentimental  values 
of  firelight  and  silence,  appeared  necessary  and 

145 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

right  somehow  appeared  almost  absurd  when 
viewed  in  broad  day.  Checking  sentiment,  too, 
by  its  very  friendliness,  her  manner  did  not  invite 
confession. 

"  It  would  be  impertinent,"  he  concluded.  "  She 
has  no  personal  interest  in  me." 

If  he  had  observed  her  only  an  hour  earlier  re- 
entering  the  jacal  after  a  shivering  exchange  out 
side  with  the  peona  he  might  not  have  been  quite 
so  sure.  Once  or  twice  she  had  indulged  in  softer 
thought,  whose  key  was  to  be  found  in  her  mur 
mur  just  before  she  tried  to  awake  him: 

"Adios,  Rosario." 

Also  the  morning  had  brought  its  own  problem 
to  fill  his  mind.  He  could  not  but  see  that 
their  appearance  at  the  inn  in  the  Barranca 
so  early  in  the  day  would  be  a  confession  of 
their  breach  of  the  most  rigid  of  Spanish  con 
ventions.  But  how  to  broach  the  subject  with 
out  offense?  Though  he  racked  his  brains  while 
saddling  the  horse  and,  later,  when  it  was  carry 
ing  them  double  upon  their  way,  he  had  come  to 
no  conclusion  up  to  the  moment  that  she  settled 
it  herself  with  a  little  cry. 

"Now  I  know  where  I  am."  She  was  indicat 
ing  an  outcropping  of  rock  on  a  sterile  hillside. 
"We  strayed  miles  away  from  our  trail.  We 
shall  soon  come  to  a  path  that  leads  past  a  rancho 
where  I  can  borrow  a  horse." 

Almost  as  they  spoke  the  cattle  track  they  had 
been  following  joined  a  trail,  and  shortly  after 

146 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

she  spoke  again,  laughing.  "And  now,  Senor 
Rosario,  I  must  bid  you  good -by.  This  good 
beast  has  done  nobly,  but  we  shall  gain  time  if 
one  rides  forward  to  the  rancho  and  sends  back 
a  horse.  Which  shall  it  be?" 

But  he  was  already  on  the  ground,  hat  in  hand. 
"Rosa,  adios" 

Laughing,  she  rode  on  while  he  sat  down  on  an 
outcropping  of  rock  to  wait,  for  he  was  not 
minded  to  wade  through  the  wet  grass  and  brush 
of  some  woods  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Until  she 
passed  from  sight  he  sat  watching,  then,  feeling  a 
little  lazy,  he  fitted  his  angles  into  a  sort  of  nat 
ural  couch  in  the  rock  and  fell  to  musing,  review 
ing  again  the  incidents  of  the  night.  He  had  not 
intended  to  sleep.  But  what  with  the  warmth 
and  stillness,  he  presently  passed  quietly  away, 
was  still  unconscious  when  the  stroke  of  a  hoof 
on  a  rock  awoke  him  to  the  sight  of  two  horsemen 
with  a  led  beast. 

"For  me,"  he  thought.  Then,  as  he  recog 
nized  Sebastien  Rocha  in  the  second  horseman, 
he  whistled  his  consternation.  If  the  hacendado 
had  not  actually  met  Francesca  he  must  surely 
have  pumped  the  mozo  dry,  and  now  the  sight 
of  him,  Seyd,  would  fully  reveal  their  case! 

"Now  for  a  big  fat  row,"  he  told  himself. 
But,  greatly  to  his  surprise,  Sebastien  passed  on 
with  a  nod,  and  presently  turned  from  the  trail, 
following  their  fresh  hoof  tracks  over  the  hill. 
The  mozo  had  already  gone  on  to  retrieve 

147 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Francesca's  saddle  from  the  dead  horse,  and, 
irritated  and  alarmed,  Seyd  mounted  the  led 
beast  and  rode  on  at  a  gallop.  But,  quickly 
realizing  that  his  further  company  was  not 
likely  to  improve  the  girl's  case,  he  presently 
pulled  the  beast  back  to  a  walk.  Lost  in  frown 
ing  thought,  he  rode  on  slowly  until,  an  hour 
later,  there  came  a  beat  of  galloping  hoofs,  and 
Sebastien  rode  up  from  behind. 

His  reiteration  of  the  thought  "Now  for  the 
row!"  was  colored  by  the  way  in  which  the 
hacendado's  hand  went  to  his  holster.  But 
Seyd's  hand,  which  moved  as  quickly  to  his  own 
gun,  dropped,  and  he  blushed  crimson  as  the 
other  held  out  his  brier  pipe. 

"Merely  this,  senor."  He  glanced  meaningly 
at  Seyd's  gun.  "For  that  you  would  have  been 
too  late.  I  could  have  shot  you  through  the 
back.  After  this  do  not  let  your  foolish  Yankee 
pride  stop  you  from  looking  behind." 

Though  both  angry  and  alarmed,  the  cold 
impudence  of  it  made  Seyd  laugh.  "Yes?  How 
did  you  resist  the  temptation?" 

"It  was  a  temptation."  He  gravely  approved 
the  word.  "Your  back  made  such  a  fine  smooth 
mark.  I  could  see  the  bullet  splash  in  the  center." 

"Then  why  didn't  you?  Since  you  are  so 
frank  I  don't  mind  saying  that  I  believe  that  you 
already  had  a  hand  in  at  least  one  of  three 
attempts  on  my  life?  Ms  it  that  you  would  prefer 
to  have  me  blown  up?" 

148 


THE   MYSTERY   OF   THE   BARRANCA 

"Like  your  predecessor,  the  Hollander?"  Se- 
bastien's  shrug  might  have  meant  anything. 
"I  have,  of  course,  my  preferences,  and  some  day 
I  shall  have  to  decide  in  just  which  way  I  would 
wish  you  put  to  death.  In  passing  the  oppor 
tunity  now  you  ought  to  feel  complimented,  for 
let  me  tell  you  that  I  would  never  leave  any 
Mexican  lips  free  to  tell  of  your  experiences  last 
night." 

The  man's  tone  of  quiet  certainty  robbed  the 
words  of  extravagance;  and,  accustomed  now  to  a 
life  that  out-melodramaed  melodrama,  Seyd  knew 
better  than  to  take  them  for  jest.  "That's  very 
nice  of  you,"  he  quietly  answered,  and  as  just 
then  the  trail  narrowed  to  pass  through  a  copal 
grove  he  added:  "Forewarned  is  forearmed. 
Just  to  keep  you  out  of  temptation — will  you 
please  to  go  first?" 

"With  pleasure." 

Faint  though  it  was,  the  smile  that  loosened 
the  firm  mouth  made  it  easier  for  Seyd  to  con 
tinue  when  they  were  riding  once  more  side  by 
side.  "For  the  young  lady's  sake  I  am  glad  to 
have  you  take  such  a  sensible  view  of  an  unavoid 
able  situation.  I  take  it  that  you  were  going  the 
other  way.  If  you  can  trust  me — " 

"Trust  no  one  and  you  will  never  be  deceived. 
If  I  had  my  way  of  it  there  would  be  an  end  to 
the  girl's  wild  tricks.  But  since  she  will  be 
abroad,  what  better  escort  could  she  have  than 
her  kinsman?" 

149 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"None,"  Seyd  agreed.  "I  overtook  her  by 
accident,  cared  for  her  the  best  that  I  could;  now 
she  is  in  your  hands." 

Sebastien  shook  his  head.  "Not  so  swiftly. 
She  would  hardly  thank  me  for  your  dismissal." 
While  the  shadow  of  a  smile  lifted  the  corner  of 
his  thin  lips  he  added:  "The  last  time  I  mixed 
in  her  affairs  she  refused  to  speak  with  me  for 
over  a  year,  and  I  have  no  mind  to  repeat  the 
experience.  We  are  all  going  to  San  Nicolas. 
It  would  be  foolish  to  ride  apart." 

"Very  well,"  Seyd  agreed,  not,  however,  with 
any  great  degree  of  pleasure.  Apart  from  the 
(strain  involved  by  a  day's  travel  with  a  man  who 
had  just  confessed  to  a  permanent  intention  of 
killing  him  he  felt  more  disappointment  than  he 
would  have  cared  to  admit  at  the  spoiling  of  the 
tete-a-tete  with  the  girl.  In  fact,  the  feeling  was 
so  acute  that  he  found  it  necessary  to  justify  it 
in  his  own  thought.  "It  was  only  for  a  day,"  he 
mused,  slightly  changing  his  previous  conclu 
sion  to  fit  the  case,  "and  I'd  like  to  have  seen 
it  out." 

"So!  so!  The  storm  proved  a  little  too  much 
for  this  one." 

They  had  just  ridden  into  copal  woods,  and, 
looking  up,  Seyd  saw  that  he  was  pointing  at  a 
pile  of  bones  and  wet  tatters  of  clothing  that  lay 
under  a  swinging  fray  of  rope.  If  possible,  it 
was  more  grisly  of  appearance  than  a  second 
mummy  which  still  swung,  clicking  its  miserable 

150 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

bones  in  the  wind.  Whether  or  no  he  noticed 
Seyd's  shiver  of  disgust  Sebastien  ran  easily  on: 

"He  was  a  stout  rogue,  this  fellow,  with  a 
keen  eye  for  a  pretty  woman  and  small  scruples 
as  to  how  he  got  her.  It  was,  indeed,  through 
this  little  weakness  that  we  caught  him,  using 
a  girl  to  bait  the  trap.  But  he  died  game — with 
a  joke  on  his  lips.  'Senior,'  he  said,  as  the  mule 
went  from  under  him,  'if  but  one-half  of  my 
brats  walk  in  my  steps  thou  wilt  have  need  of  an 
army  to  finish  us  up.' 

"He  had  humor,  too.  He  it  was  that  stole  the 
altar  service  from  the  church  of  San  Anselmo  to 
pay  the  priest  of  Guadaloupe  to  say  a  thousand 
masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  He  was  dead 
and  the  masses  said  before  the  service  was  traced 
by  a  pilgrim  to  the  Guadaloupe  shrine,  and  ever 
since  the  priests  have  been  at  war — both  over 
the  return  of  the  service  and  to  decide  the  burn 
ing  question  as  to  whether  it  is  possible  to 
nullify  a  heavenly  title  obtained  through  fraud. 
It  makes  a  pretty  point  in  theology,  and  the  bat 
tle  still  rages.  Being  debarred  from  physical  ex 
pression,  the  brute  in  a  priest  exercises  itself 
through  the  tongue,  and  they  will  not  leave  such 
a  choice  morsel  till  the  last  shred  of  meat  has 
been  gnawed  from  the  bones." 

In  presence  of  those  dumb  witnesses  to  its  truth, 
the  grim  banter  sounded  even  grimmer.  During 
the  long  white  nights  that  followed  hard  days  at 
work  on  the  smelter  nothing  had  suited  Caliban 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

more  than  to  be  drawn  on  to  talk  of  the  war 
against  the  brigands.  Under  the  red  light  of  a 
camp  fire,  with  the  vast  night  of  the  Barranca 
yawning  below,  the  tales  had  been  spun — tales 
that  had  outdone  the  dime  novels  of  Seyd's 
youth.  Of  them  all,  that  which  had  ended  with 
the  hanging  of  the  last  bandit  in  this  very  glade 
had  outdone  all  in  sheer  desperation. 

Kindling  to  the  romance  of  it  all,  he  took 
stealthy  note,  as  they  rode  on,  of  the  lithe  mus 
cular  figure,  which  was  as  extraordinary  in  its 
balanced  strength  as  the  calm  power  of  the  quiet 
brown  face.  When  memory  drew  a  vivid  con 
trast  between  Sebastien  and  his  early  training  in 
the  sober  atmosphere  of  the  English  commercial 
boarding-school  Seyd  wondered,  and  finally  put 
his  wonder  into  words. 

"Didn't  you  find  the  transition  from  Man 
chester  rather  sudden?  It  must  have  been  like 
plunging  head  first  into  a  romance." 

"Romance?"  For  the  first  time  that  morn 
ing,  for  matter  of  that,  in  all  their  intercourse, 
Sebastien  laughed  outright.  "Oh,  you  Anglo- 
Saxons!  Romance  is  a  creature  of  your  own 
dreamy  idealism.  We  do  not  know  it.  We  are 
passionate,  nervous,  hysterical,  gross,  material 
istic,  but  for  all  our  heat  we  see  life  more  clearly 
than  you.  It  would  be  better  for  us  if  we  did  not. 
For  where  in  the  mirror  of  your  imaginings  you 
see  your  strength  enormously  magnified  our 
clearer  perceptions  show  our  weaknesses.  Even 

152 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

at  the  point  of  death  you  neither  see  nor  accept 
defeat.  But  we,  cowering  before  it,  are  swept 
the  quicker  away."  Just  as  on  that  other  occa 
sion  when  he  stood  talking  beside  their  fire  on  the 
rim  of  the  Barranca,  this  came  out  of  his  quiet 
with  volcanic  heat.  Dropping  as  quickly  into 
his  usual  calm,  he  finished,  "No,  I  did  not  find  it 
romantic — merely  amusing." 

Nettled  a  little  by  his  amused  contempt,  Seyd 
quickly  retorted:  "I  fail  to  see  how  you  can 
claim  to  have  no  ideals?  You  who  are  striving 
with  all  your  might  against  the  American 
invasion?" 

Sebastien  shrugged.  "  Racial  aversion — backed 
up  by  the  instinct  of  self-preservation.  Even 
cattle  will  band  together  against  the  wolves. 
But  remove  the  danger  and  the  bulls  fall  at  once 
fighting  for  command  of  the  herd.  Before  Diaz 
we  had  sixty-five  rulers  in  sixty  years,  very  few 
of  whom  died  in  their  beds.  Once  remove  his 
iron  hand  from  our  throats  and  we  shall  go  at  it 
again,  revolution  upon  revolution,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  satisfying  some  man's  personal  am 
bition,  lust,  or  individual  greed.  No,  senor,  we 
are  individualists  in  the  extreme.  We  have 
nothing  in  our  make-up  to  correspond  to  the 
racial  ideal  that  makes  you  Northmen  subor 
dinate  personal  interest  to  the  general  good. 
And  because  of  our  lack  you  will  eventually  rule 


us." 


Yet  you  strive  against  it?' 

153 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

.  "For  the  one  reason,  as  I  told  you,  that  the 
weaker  wolf  declines  to  be  eaten.  Individually, 
I  find  it  amusing.  I  would  much  prefer  shooting 
gringo  soldiery  to  hanging  Mexican  bandits." 

"And  the  General— Don  Luis?" 

Once  again  Sebastien  laughed.  "That  old 
revolutionist?  He  would  deny  all  I  have  said 
as  rank  heresy,  though  he  himself  is  its  most 
startling  example.  He  would  say  that  he  was  for 
Mexico,  but  Mexico,  to  him,  is  Mexico  with  a 
Garcia  for  president.  Selfish  to  the  backbone, 
every  one  of  us." 

In  a  phrase  he  had  described  Don  Luis,  and, 
while  he  could  not  but  smile  at  its  truth,  Seyd  was 
just  a  little  startled  by  the  keen  intelligence  and 
flashing  intuition.  Even  after  allowing  for  ad 
vantages  of  travel  and  education  the  man's  sharp 
reasoning  and  originality  were  remarkable.  Like 
a  clear  black  pool  his  mind  sharply  reflected  all 
that  passed  over  it,  and  always  the  conception 
stood  out  as  under  a  lightning  flash. 

"No,  senor,"  he  went  on,  after  a  pause,  "we 
are  individualists,  and  as  such  can  only  obtain 
happiness  by  following  our  own  bent.  If  we  are 
held  back  for  a  while  by  Porfirio,  be  sure  that 
sooner  or  later  we  shall  return  with  greater  zest 
to  our  ancient  pastime  of  cutting  each  other's 
throats." 

His  uncanny  intelligence,  too,  threw  sinister 
lights  on  everything  they  passed.  "I  told  you 
we  were  gross,"  he  said,  indicating  a  youth  and 

154 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

a  brown  girl  who  were  flirting  through  the  barred 
windows  of  an  adobe  ranch  house.  "The  proof 
— the  bars.  With  us  love  is  a  passion;  the  ideal 
exists  only  in  our  songs." 

Shortly  thereafter  they  rode  out  on  the  rim 
overlooking  the  Barranca,  and  the  necessity  of 
riding  in  single  file  down  the  zigzag  staircases 
brought  an  end  to  their  talk.  Neither  did  he 
begin  it  again  as  they  crossed  the  bottom  flat 
to  the  inn.  Coming  after  a  long  silence,  the 
invitation  which  he  delivered  at  last,  as  they  rode 
into  the  patio,  came  as  a  greater  surprise. 

"I  feel  certain,  senor,  that  my  cousin  will  wish 
you  to  lunch  with  us." 

Because  another  trait  in  Sebastien's  nature 
was  not  revealed  until,  a  few  minutes  later,  he 
knocked  at  Francesca's  door,  Seyd  failed  to  see 
that  which,  after  all,  was  perhaps  even  more  sur 
prising.  As  he  entered  in  response  to  her  call 
she  rose  and  stood,  one  hand  resting  on  the  small 
altar  where  burned  a  tiny  taper;  and  as  he  stood 
looking  at  her  across  the  length  of  the  room  the 
inquiry  in  her  wide  eyes  became  touched  with 
fear. 

"It  is  you?"  she  broke  the  silence.  "They 
told  me  that  you  spent  last  night  here.  How 
was  it  that  I  did  not  meet  you  on  the  way?" 

"  Simply  because  I  had  happened  to  turn  in  at 
the  Rancho  del  Rio  to  look  at  some  cattle.  But 
I  overtook  the  mozo  you  sent  back  with  the  horse 
for  the  gringo.  Also  I  called  in  at  the  jacal  of 

11  155 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Miguel,  the  vaquero  of  San  Angel,  where  I  found 
Maria,  his  woman,  just  returned.  She  was  re 
joicing  over  a  supernatural  visitation.  It  seems 
that  while  she  and  Miguel  were  away  the  Virgin 
Guadaloupe  abode  in  their  house,  and  even  hon 
ored  Maria  by  putting  on  her  best  fiesta  clothes. 
In  proof  thereof  she  showed  me  a  silver  peso  that 
the  Virgin  left  tied  up  in  one  corner  of  her 
chemisette.  It  was  truly  remarkable,  and  I  was 
well  on  my  way  to  a  healthy  conversion  when  I 
happened  to  stumble  on  the  gringo's  pipe — at 
least,  he  claimed  it  on  sight." 

"And  you  immediately  turned  about  to  tattle 
this  to  me?" 

He  merely  smiled  under  her  bright  scorn. 
"To  see  you  home." 

"Where  you  will  proceed  to  make  my  mother 
eternally  miserable,  and  uncle — " 

—Infernally  angry?  On  the  contrary,  I  am 
prepared  to  back  up  with  pistol  and  knife  the 
tale  of  Maria's  visitation.  Why  should  I  wish  to 
bring  suffering  to  the  good  mother?  It  was  a  hap 
of  the  trail,  and,  much  as  I  hate  all  gringos,  it  was 
far  better  that  you  should  have  been  in  this  man's 
hands.  Some  day  I  may  have  to  kill  him,  and  I 
shall  do  it  with  greater  pleasure  because  of  this!" 

"If  the  attempt  does  not  fail  as  miserably  as 
that  which  you  made  on  his  soul." 

"Put  it  morals,  cousin,  just  to  bring  it  within 
the  bounds  of  my  comprehension.  Y'ou  know 
my  beliefs  as  to  souls." 

156 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"In  any  case  it  was  a  mean  trick." 

"Tricks  are  tricks  only  when  they  fail.  Suc 
cessful,  they  rise  to  the  dignity  of  strategems. 
And  he  ought  not  to  complain.  Did  he  not  come 
out  of  the  ordeal  unscathed,  tricked  out  in  the 
flowers  of  virtue?  He's  really  in  my  debt.  But 
returning  to  my  point,  some  day  I  shall  kill  him; 
but  in  the  mean  time  I  have  asked  him  to  lunch 
with  us.  As  he  looked  hungry,  I  should  suggest  a 
little  haste." 

"I  am  ready  now."  Going  toward  him,  she 
spoke,  hesitantly:  "Let  me — thank  you.  Were 
you  always  thus,  Sebastien,  we  should  be  better 
friends." 

"Gracias,  anything  but  that."  Bowing,  he 
stood  aside  to  permit  her  to  pass.  "The  half 
liking  that  you  deal  out  to  Anton,  Javier,  and 
other  fat-jowled  hacendados,  your  admirers, 
would  never  do  for  me.  I  prefer  your — fear." 

"But  I  am  not  afraid  of  you."  She  looked 
straight  in  his  eyes  passing  out. 

"You  will  be — some  day." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

out  from  luncheon — at  which  Se^ 
bastien  had  presided  with  a  grave  courtesy 
which  lifted  the  inn's  humble  fare  of  eggs,  tor 
tillas,  and  rice  to  epicurean  heights — Seyd  and 
Francesca  came  face  to  face  with  Tomas,  her 
mozo,  who  had  just  ridden  into  the  patio.  At 
sight  of  his  mistress  the  mozo's  teeth  flashed  in 
the  golden  dusk  under  his  sombrero,  but  he  shook 
his  head  when  she  reached  for  the  letter  which 
he  took  out  of  his  saddle  bags. 

"It  is  for  the  gringo  senor.  The  jefe  did  not 
know  of  your  coming." 

It  was,  of  course,  from  Don  Luis.  Couched 
in  terms  massively  dignified  as  his  own  reserve, 
it  apologized  for  the  floods  as  for  some  personal 
fault,  and  finished  by  placing  hacienda  San 
Nicolas  at  Seyd's  service. 

"So  you  will  ride  on  with  us,"  Francesca  com 
mented  upon  its  content. 

As  Sebastien  had  gone  to  order  fresh  horses, 
there  was  no  one  but  Seyd  to  observe  her  evident 
pleasure.  But  if  he  thrilled,  yet  he  persisted, 
pleading  that  he  intended  to  establish  head 
quarters  there  at  the  inn  and  would  be  head  over 

158 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

heels  in  business,  freighting  machinery  and  sup 
plies  in  from  the  station. 

He  smiled  at  her  further  objection  that  he 
would  hardly  find  the  accommodations  of  the 
inn  to  his  liking.  "They  are  better  than  at  the 
mine.  If  they  prove  too  bad  I  shall  run  down  to 
San  Nicolas  to  beg  a  meal." 

"Very  well,  senor,  we  shall  expect  you." 

Her  little  backward  nod,  riding  away  with 
Sebastien  a  few  minutes  later,  reaffirmed  it,  but 
while  Seyd  bowed  in  acknowledgment  his  thought 
ran  oppositely.  Unaware  how  quickly  circum 
stances  would  compel  the  visit,  he  formulated  a 
hardy  resolution.  "Now,  young  man,  no  more 
sentimental  fooling.  It's  you  for  work.  The 
first  thing  is  to  get  across  to  Billy." 

When,  however,  he  took  counsel  with  his  fat 
brown  host  concerning  the  hire  of  a  dugout  the 
latter  held  up  pudgy  hands  in  horror.  Santissimo 
Trinidad!  The  very  idea  was  madness!  With 
the  river  running  a  mile  wide  at  its  narrowest? 
Not  a  peon  would  venture  upon  it!  And  under 
the  inspiration  of  his  belief  that  a  live  customer 
was  to  be  preferred  to  even  a  drowned  gringo 
he  worked  privately  against  Seyd's  suicidal  in 
tention.  So  well  did  he  scatter  his  pessimistic 
seed  that  when  Seyd  succeeded  in  finding  a  dug 
out  he  had  to  buy  it  outright;  nor  could  he  per 
suade  a  single  peon  to  dare  the  flood. 

It  was  while  returning  to  the  inn  late  in  the 
day  that  he  obtained  his  first  glimpse  of  the 

159 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

river  from  a  knoll  which  lifted  him  above  the 
drowned  jungle.  Around  wooded  islands,  which 
were  usually  dry  hills,  a  waste  of  waters,  thick 
and  brown  as  chocolate,  swept  madly.  Along 
the  edge  of  the  jungle  it  boiled  in  fat  eddies 
which  sucked  and  licked  the  trailing  greenery. 
Farther  out  it  was  whipped  into  a  yellow  cream 
by  the  thrashing  branches  of  uprooted  trees, 
ceibas  and  cedars,  huge  as  a  church,  which  rolled 
and  tumbled  as  their  submerged  limbs  caught 
on  the  bottom.  Everywhere  it  was  studded 
with  debris,  trees  and  brush,  whole  acres  of 
water  lilies  which  here  massed  like  a  garden 
around  a  floating  hut,  there  wreathed  the  carcass 
of  some  drowned  beast. 

In  all  the  world  there  is  nothing  more  melan 
choly  than  the  voice  of  a  flood.  Its  resurgent 
dirge  stirs  vague  forebodings  which  root  in  the 
calamitous  experience  of  the  race.  Standing  there 
alone,  with  the  call  of  rushing  waters,  patter  of 
rain,  and  sough  of  a  sad  wind  in.  his  ears,  Seyd 
was  able  to  understand  the  peons'  superstitious 
fear.  Yet  he  remained  undeterred.  The  water 
being  far  too  deep  for  poling,  he  made  a  pair  of 
oars  and  fitted  wooden  thole  pins  in  the  dugout 
that  evening,  and  next  morning  put  off  by  him 
self  on  the  tangled  breast  of  the  flood  with  such 
food  as  he  had  been  able  to  buy. 

Once  afloat,  he  found  navigation  even  more 
precarious  than  the  direst  prophecy  of  his  host. 
Now  backwatering  until  an  opening  showed  in  a 

160 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

bristle  of  brush  and  water  lilies,  he  would  next 
almost  crack  his  back  in  a  supreme  effort  to  cross 
the  currents  which  ran  like  millraces  between 
wooded  islands.  Once  a  quick  spurt  saved  him 
from  disastrous  collision  with  a  derelict  log;  and, 
dodging  or  running,  he  was  kept  so  busy  that 
Billy's  sudden  hail  came  as  a  surprise. 

"Hello,  Seyd!  Got  any  decent  grub?  We've 
lived  on  frijoles  straight  for  the  last  thirty  days." 

The  monotonous  diet,  however,  did  not  seem 
to  have  impaired  Billy's  customary  cheerfulness. 
At  the  sight  of  eggs,  honey,  chickens,  and 
bananas  in  the  stern  of  the  boat  his  freckles 
loomed  like  brown  spots  on  a  shining  sun. 
Neither  had  misfortune  affected  his  industry. 
Though — as  Francesca  feared — ten  feet  of  water 
now  covered  the  new  foundation,  he  had  imme 
diately  started  another  on  a  bench  which  rose 
fifty  feet  above  the  flood.  And,  now  munching  a 
tortilla  rolled  in  honey,  he  led  the  way  to  where 
Calixto  and  Caliban,  with  half  a  dozen  others, 
were  hard  at  work.  It  was  their  first  meeting 
since  Seyd  left  for  the  States,  and  there  was,  of 
course,  no  end  to  the  things  each  had  to  tell. 
Then,  in  reviewing  the  new  work  and  planning 
for  more,  the  day  slipped  rapidly  away. 

Indeed,  afternoon  was  drawing  on  before  Seyd 
pushed  off  again.  He  had  intended  to  land  as 
close  as  possible  to  the  inn  and  have  the  dug 
out  carried  back  upstream  the  following  day. 
But  he  could  not,  of  course,  foresee  the  event 

161 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

which,  a  third  of  the  way  across,  caused  him  to 
stop  rowing  and  stare  with  all  his  eyes.  For  as 
he  backwatered  to  avoid  a  huge  ceiba  that  bore 
down  upon  him  with  a  slow,  leisurely  roll  he  spied 
a  patch  of  white  amidst  the  branches,  and  as  it 
drew  closer  this  presently  resolved  into  a  drenched 
chemisette  which  clung  to  the  limbs  of  a  young 
girl. 

A  slim  brown  thing  under  thirteen,  terror  had 
drained  away  every  particle  of  her  natural  color, 
leaving  her  big  dark  eyes  looming  dead  black  in 
the  pale  gold  mask  of  her  face.  Though  she  had 
seen  Seyd  first,  the  inborn  humility  of  her  subject 
race  deterred  her  from  making  any  outcry.  She 
just  sat  perfectly  still  astride  the  thatched  peak 
of  a  submerged  hut  which,  caughi  in  the  branches, 
acted  as  an  outrigger  to  keep  the  great  tree  on  an 
even  keel.  Only  her  eyes  expressed  the  pitiful 
appeal  whose  utter  hopelessness  was  emphasized 
by  flash  of  wonder  when  Seyd  drove  the  dugout 
in  among  the  branches. 

Rising,  then,  she  leaped  into  the  bows,  and, 
whether  because  the  mass  rode  in  a  balance  too 
delicate  to  endure  the  sudden  change  of  weight 
or  that  a  submerged  branch  happened  to  catch 
just  then  on  some  obstruction,  the  tree  rolled 
heavily  upon  the  dugout  while  Seyd  was  pulling 
his  oars.  Fortunately,  the  one  heavy  stroke  had 
carried  them  out  from  under  all  but  the  thinner 
branches,  and,  though  the  dugout  was  capsized 
and  forced  under,  it  rose  instantly,  with  Seyd  and 

162 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  girl  clinging  at  each  end.  The  hut  on  which 
she  had  been  floating  also  emerged,  and,  working 
alongside,  Seyd  was  able  to  right  his  craft  and 
bale  it  out  with  his  Stetson  sombrero.  A  few 
yards  away  he  recovered  one  oar,  and,  using  it 
as  a  paddle,  he  tried  to  work  across  the  flood. 

By  the  time  he  had  gained  half  the  way,  how 
ever,  he  was  miles  below  the  inn,  and  dusk 
found  him  floating  on  the  wide  lake  wrhich  now 
covered  the  San  Nicolas  cane  fields.  Here, 
where  the  water  ran  more  slowly,  he  made  way 
faster  toward  the  shore,  and  through  a  leaden 
dusk  he  presently  made  out  red  twinkles  which 
grew,  in  another  half  hour,  into  the  lights  and 
fires  of  the  hacienda.  Soon  his  oar  struck  bot 
tom,  and,  using  it  as  a  pole,  he  drove  rapidly  into 
a  landing. 

The  night  rams  had  already  set  in  and  they 
came  down  in  sheets  which  soaked  him  to  the 
skin  and  made  of  the  girl,  who  had  fallen  asleep 
in  the  bows,  a  dim  white  nude.  She  had  given 
him  her  simple  history — how,  of  the  five  who 
were  asleep  in  the  hut  when  it  was  swept  away 
by  a  cloudburst,  she  alone  had  survived.  Utterly 
tired  and  exhausted,  she  did  not  awaken  when  he 
picked  her  up,  and  she  lay  quietly  in  his  arms 
during  the  long  sloppy  tramp  across  the  upland 
pastures.  She  was  still  asleep  when,  aroused  by 
the  baying  of  his  dogs,  Don  Luis  peered  down 
from  the  upper  patio  upon  their  draggled  figures. 

"  Hombres!  hombres!"    Looking  up  as  his  heavy 

163 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

bass  boomed  through  the  hacienda  calling  the 
mozos,  Seyd  caught  a  glimpse  under  the  portal 
lantern  of  Francesca's  face  in  its  frame  of  dark 
hair  through  a  glittering  mist  of  rain.  The  next 
moment  she  came  flying  down  the  great  stone 
stairs,  followed  by  an  irruption  of  brown  maids. 

"  The  ninal  Oh,  the  poor  nina!"  Though  she 
was  wearing  an  evening  dress  of  delicate  white,  she 
gathered  the  soaked  child  into  her  bosom,  and,  a 
center  of  flying  skirts  and  soft  womanish  exclama 
tions,  hurried  her  away  to  the  upper  regions. 

In  the  longer  time  required  for  him  to  descend, 
Don  Luis  subdued  his  first  astonishment,  but  it 
broke  bonds  again  when  Seyd  explained  his 
plight.  "You  crossed  and  recrossed  the  flood? 
Por  Dios  mio!  I  would  never  have  dreamed  that 
man  could  do  it  and  live!  You  are  wet  to  the 
skin.  Come  up  at  once." 

"I  had  not  expected — "  Seyd  began. 

But  the  old  man  cut  him  off  at  once.  "You 
gringos  are  difficult  folk  to  please.  Surely  a  dry 
bed  in  San  Nicolas  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  wet 
night  on  the  river." 

Nevertheless  he  was  not  displeased.  Confer 
ring  with  Francesca  concerning  a  change  of 
clothes  after  Seyd  was  safely  bestowed  in  a  bed 
room,  he  expressed  his  secret  admiration.  "See 
you,  an  enormous  ceiba  rolls  over  and  sends  him 
and  the  canoa  to  the  bottom,  yet  he  speaks  of  it 
with  shamed  laughter  as  though  of  a  fault.  Also 
he  would  have  borrowed  a  mozo  and  horse  to 

164 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

travel  back  to  the  inn.     What  a  man  he  would 
have  made  for  the  old  wars!" 

A  charro  suit,  so  close  to  Seyd's  size  as  to  be 
almost  a  fit,  was  the  best  that  Francesca,  after 
a  voluble  consultation  with  her  maids,  could  offer 
in  the  way  of  change,  and,  though  he  experienced 
modest  qualms  at  the  sight  of  himself  in  tight 
trousers  and  short  bolero  jacket  of  soft  leather 
gorgeously  embroidered  with  silver,  they  un 
doubtedly  brought  out  qualities  of  limb  which 
were  altogether  lost  in  his  usual  clothing.  If  he 
could  have  seen  the  touch  of  admiration  that 
softened  the  mischief  in  Francesca's  dark  eyes 
when  he  entered  the  living-room,  his  misgivings 
might  have  vanished.  But  the  phenomenon 
occurred  behind  his  back,  and  his  recent  vow 
against  "sentimental  fooling"  did  not  prevent 
him  from  coloring  at  her  whispered  remark: 
"You  remind  me  of  one  Senor  Rosario." 
Later,  he  was  to  spend  considerable  time  try 
ing  to  appease  conscience  with  plausible  explana 
tions  of  his  feeling,  to  set  it  down  to  relief  that 
their  adventure  had  brought  her  no  trouble. 
But  while  relief  may  have  entered  in,  it  was 
principally  due  to  the  fact  that  she  had  chosen 
to  retie  the  thread  of  their  acquaintance  just 
where  it  had  been  severed  by  Sebastien's  intru 
sion.  Yet,  whatsoever  its  constituents,  his  pleas 
ant  embarrassment  did  not  paralyze  his  tongue. 
"I  cannot  return  the  compliment." 
Neither  could  he.  With  Rosa,  the  pretty 

165 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

peona,  this  young  lady  in  foamy  white  had  noth 
ing  in  common,  and  Rosa  would  have  certainly 
felt  out  of  place  amidst  the  luxurious  appoint 
ments  of  the  room.  Ample  in  all  its  dimensions, 
the  furnishings  had  evidently  been  selected  from 
the  garnered  treasures  of  several  generations, 
with  such  taste,  however,  that  the  unmatched 
pieces  made  a  harmonious  whole.  The  old 
hangings  which  excluded  the  damp  night,  the 
old  rugs  on  the  mahogany  floor,  and  old  furniture 
lent  each  other  countenance,  melted  into  a  rich 
design.  Even  the  grand  piano,  undoubtedly  the 
latest  addition,  was  taking  the  tone  of  age. 
Only  the  bookcases  which  flanked  the  great  fire 
place  displayed  a  modern  note,  for  in  them  fine 
editions  of  English  classics  crowded  the  novels 
and  plays  of  Cervantes  and  Lope  Felix  de  Vega, 
Daudet,  Flaubert,  Anatole  France,  De  Maupas 
sant,  competed  for  room  with  Spanish  and  Eng 
lish  translations  of  the  modern  Russians. 

"Her  taste,"  Seyd  had  summed  the  room. 
"Your  books?"  he  asked,  with  a  nod  at  these 
astonishing  shelves. 

"Yes,  no  one  else  reads  them."  She  added, 
with  smiling  directness:  "Or  could  understand. 
If  the  dear  mother  read  French,  oh,  what  a  bon 
fire  we  should  have!" 

"And  you  like  them — the  Frenchmen?" 

"Some — in  some  things."  Her  brows  arching 
in  the  effort  for  clear  expression,  she  went  on: 
"They  know  life,  and  one  cannot  but  enjoy  their 

166 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

beautiful  style.  But" — the  delicate  penciling 
drew  even  finer — "they  see  only  with  the  eye. 
They  are  brilliant — as  diamonds,  and  just  as 
hard,  cold.  They  analyze,  dissect,  probe  life, 
take  it  apart,  then  forget  to  put  it  together. 
Love  they  see  only  as  passion  devoid  of  sympathy, 
affection,  friendship.  Their  art  is  of  the  senses, 
their  refinement — of  manner.  Under  the  veneer 
they  are  gross  and  hard." 

To  his  astonishment  she  had  expressed  his  own 
feeling  for  French  literature,  and,  intensely 
curious,  he  went  on  probing  her  with  questions, 
in  his  interest  forgetting  both  his  clothes  and 
hunger  till  Don  Luis  interrupted. 

"Lindita,  the  senor  cannot  live  on  words. 
The  girls  are  calling  dinner." 

But  after  the  meal — which  was  set  out  with 
silver,  glass,  napery,  all  of  the  finest,  and  served 
by  brown  maids  who  moved  in  and  out  with  the 
soft  stealth  of  bare  feet — they  went  at  their  talk 
again,  gleaning  in  fields  of  common  knowledge 
while  Don  Luis  alternately  smoked  and  dozed  by 
the  fire. 

It  was  a  revelation  for  Seyd,  and  while  he 
watched  the  play  of  feeling  over  her  face,  the 
flow  of  her  soft  color,  the  swift  moods  of  the 
arched  brows,  and  the  lighting  and  lowering  of 
dark  eyes  in  unison  with  the  change  of  her  talk, 
his  hardy  resolution  of  yesterday — already  sapped 
by  his  present  luxurious  comfort — underwent 
further  disintegration. 

167 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"After  all,"  he  thought,  "why  shouldn't  I  run 
down  and  see  them  occasionally?" 

Following  Don  Luis  to  his  bedroom,  he  arrived 
at  this  conclusion,  and  in  his  argument  with 
Conscience  he  reaffirmed  it  with  even  greater 
force.  "After  all  the  old  man's  kindness  it 
would  be  blackly  ungrateful  to  flout  his  hos 
pitality." 

"No^reason  why  you  should,"  Conscience  con 
ceded,  but  added  the  unpleasant  rider,  "pro 
viding  you  don't  sail  under  false  colors." 

"  Of  course !"  Seyd  here  grew  quite  huffy  with 
Conscience.  "I  always  intended  to  let  her  know 
I  was  married — not  that  it  is  necessary.  I'm  not 
so  conceited  as  to  think  that  she  feels  the  slightest 
personal  interest  in  me." 

If  it  were  really  sincere  his  belief  might  have 
been  shaken,  could  he  have  reviewed  a  little 
scene  that  was  being  enacted  at  that  very  mo 
ment  across  the  patio.  After  the  waif  from  the 
floods  had  been  bathed  and  fed  she  was  put  to 
bed  on  a  couch  in  Francesca's  own  room,  and, 
aroused  by  the  brilliant  sheen  of  wax  candles  on 
the  dresser,  she  lay  and  watched  with  eyes  of 
awe  the  young  lady  at  her  toilet.  In  her  simple 
sight  the  dresser,  with  its  big  French  mirror  and 
gleaming  silver  appointments,  doubtless  appeared 
as  the  altar  before  which  was  being  accomplished 
the  marvelous  transmutation  of  a  woman  into  the 
exact  semblance  of  those  angels  of  light  pictured 
on  the  stained  windows  of  the  church  of  Chil- 

168 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

pancin.  From  the  plaiting  of  the  dark  cloud  of 
hair  into  a  thick  cable,  to  the  final  assumption 
of  filmy  white,  she  remained  quiet  as  a  mouse. 
Francesca  had  risen  to  blow  out  the  candles  before 
a  small  voice  rose  behind  her. 

"He  said  you  were  beautiful.  Could  he  but 
see  theenow!" 

After  a  sudden  start  Francesca  moved  over  to 
the  couch  and  collapsed  beside  it  in  a  white 
heap. 

"Awake,  nina?  What  is  this?  He  said  I  was 
beautiful?  Who?" 

"  The  gringo  senor.  When  I  began  to  cry  for 
my  mother  and  little  Pedro  that  was  drowned 
with  her  in  the  flood  he  said  for  me  to  take  com 
fort,  that  he  was  going  to  place  me  with  the  most 
beautiful  senorita  in  all  Guerrero — one  that 
would  be  kinder  to  me  than  my  mother." 

"And  that  I  will  be."  Drawing  her  close, 
Francesca  kissed  the  small  gold  face.  "But  did 
he  really  say —  No,  you  shall  tell  me  all  about 
it  from  the  very  beginning." 

While  the  tale  was  proceeding  in  soft  lisping 
Spanish  Francesca's  eyes  eloquently  illustrated 
its  varied  course.  But  their  wide  horror,  moist 
pity  at  the  drowning  of  the  poor  brown  mother, 
suspense  until  Seyd  and  the  child  had  climbed 
back  into  the  dugout,  merged  in  a  soft  glow  at 
the  repetition  of  his  promise.  " '  The  most  beau 
tiful  senorita  in  all  Guerrero?'  Then  he  could 
not  have  meant  me." 

169 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Si."  The  girl  emphatically  nodded.  "Also 
he  said  you  would  take  me  into  your  service." 

"And  so  I  will.  I  shall  have  thee  trained  for 
my  own  little  maid.  I  shall  call  thee  Roberta, 
after  him,  and  every  night  it  will  be  thy  duty  to 
speak  for  him  in  thy  prayers.  Are  they  said?" 

"Si,  senorita.  I  said  them  to  the  big  girl, 
Rosa,  but  I  will  say  one  now  for  him — with  thee." 

Could  Seyd  have  heard  the  soft  voice  following 
Francesca's  gentle  promptings  he  would  un 
doubtedly  have  suffered  another  onslaught  from 
Conscience.  As  it  was,  just  to  prove  his  dis 
interestedness  he  rose  at  dawn.  Leaving  a  note 
of  thanks  on  the  table,  he  went  out  on  a  hunt  for 
peons  and  mules  to  haul  the  dugout  back  to  the 
inn,  and,  having  found  them,  went  sternly  on 
about  his  business. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

FOR  two  weeks  thereafter  Seyd  held  fast  to 
his  work,  suppressing  with  iron  firmness 
successive  vagrant  impulses  which  urged  a  second 
visit  to  San  Nicolas.  Then  having  proved  to 
himself  his  perfect  indifference  toward  Francesca, 
he  rode  down  one  day — strictly  on  business — to 
ask  Don  Luis's  assistance  in  obtaining  more  men 
and  mules. 

"I  shall  return  this  evening,"  he  arranged  with 
Conscience,  starting  out. 

He  had  forgotten,  however,  to  make  allowance 
for  the  probable  action  of,  in  legal  verbiage,  the 
party  of  the  second  part,  for  upon  his  arrival  he 
received  from  Francesca  as  stiff  a  lecture  on  his 
folly  in  leaving  the  other  day  in  half -dried  clothes 
as  ever  fell  from  the  lips  of  an  anxious  mother. 
Upon  it,  too,  Don  Luis  set  the  stamp  of  his  heavy 
approval. 

"One  may  do  it  in  the  high  altitudes,  senor, 
but  here  in  the  tropics  such  carelessness  leads  to 
the  fever.  This  time  we  shall  not  let  you  forth 
till  properly  fed  and  dried." 

Now  while  a  girl's  acceptance  of  flowers,  candy, 
and  other  favors  may  mean  anything  or  nothing, 

12  171 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

no  sooner  does  she  begin  to  concern  herself  with 
a  man's  health  and  clothes  than  the  affair  becomes 
serious,  for  it  clearly  proves  that  she  has  been 
touched  in  the  mother  instinct,  which  forms  the 
basis  of  woman's  love.  In  his  masculine  igno 
rance  of  this  fundamental  truth,  however,  Seyd 
gave  her  solicitude  a  sisterly  interpretation,  and 
congratulated  himself  upon  the  fact  that  their 
acquaintance  was  established  at  last  on  such 
solid  ground.  Agreeing  with  himself  that  it 
would  be  the  worst  of  taste  for  him  to  disturb  a 
purely  friendly  relation  with  any  reference  to  the 
squalid  tragedy  of  his  marriage,  he  continued 
silent. 

It  is  to  be  feared,  also,  that  several  subsequent 
visits  were  based  upon  rather  frivolous  excuses. 
In  the  next  month  he  carried  down  to  San 
Nicolas  the  news  of  at  least  a  dozen  cases  of 
destitution  through  the  floods,  and  when,  for  some 
inexplicable  cause,  deliveries  of  his  material  at 
the  railroad  suddenly  ceased  he  plunged  head 
over  heels  into  the  relief  work  which  had  been 
instituted  under  Don  Luis's  direction.  Some 
times  alone,  more  often  with  Francesca  and 
Tomas,  he  rode  up  and  down  the  valley  hunting 
out  the  sufferers.  And  it  was  on  one  of  these 
journeys  that  the  fates  which  dog  insincerity 
laid  bare  his  pretense. 

It  came — his  awakening — a  week  or  so  after  a 
sudden  fall  of  the  floods  foretold  the  end  of  the 
rains.  Though  the  river  still  ran  wide  of  its 

172 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

banks,  most  of  the  ranches  with  intervening 
patches  of  jungle  had  come  again  to  the  sur 
face;  and,  riding  through  one  of  the  latter  on 
his  way  to  San  Nicolas,  Seyd  overtook  Francesca 
and  Tomas. 

"Is  it  not  good  to  see  the  fields  again?"  she 
greeted  him.  "The  crops  will  be  late  this  year, 
but  Don  Luis  says  that  the  yield  will  be  aU  the 
richer  because  of  the  flood.  But  the  jungle! 
The  poor  jungle!  It  has  been  swept  clean  of 
shrubs  and  flowers." 

It  did  look  most  forlorn.  Shorn  of  its  luxuri 
ance,  the  orchids  and  wild  flowers,  and  all  the  tide 
of  vegetation  which  usually  flowed  everywhere 
in  waves  that  rose  and  tossed  a  froth  of  green 
creepers  into  the  tops  of  the  tallest  trees,  the 
jungle  was  now  a  fat  black  marsh  littered  with 
bejucos  which  lay  in  twisted  masses  like  drowned 
snakes.  Edged  with  draggled  grass,  still  others 
hung  down  from  the  trees,  writhing  darkly  in  the 
wind  that  had  sprung  up  in  the  last  hour.  Taken 
in  all,  it  was  weird,  gruesome,  a  fit  setting  for  the 
tragedy  that  lay  waiting  for  them  amid  the  roots 
of  a  dead  ceiba  just  ahead.  Twisted  back  and 
forth  by  the  storms  of  the  last  month,  the  tree 
now  stood  in  a  hole  of  mud,  ripe  and  ready  for 
the  gust  that  snapped  the  rotten  tap  root  just  as 
Francesca  was  riding  by. 

Without  noise  the  tree  inclined,  reaching  out 
huge  arms  above  her  head.  So  silently  it  fell 
that  Francesca  never  saw  it  at  all,  and  Seyd, 

173 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

who  was  riding  just  behind  her,  received  first 
warning  from  the  sudden  swing  of  a  bejuco  across 
his  eyes.  Leaning  over  his  horse's  neck,  he 
lashed  her  beast  across  the  quarters.  Almost  un 
seated  by  the  wild  forward  plunge  of  her  beast, 
the  girl  recovered  her  seat  and  looked  back  just  in 
time  to  see  him  knocked  out  of  the  saddle.  Had 
he  been  struck  by  one  of  the  main  branches,  thick 
as  a  barrel,  both  he  and  his  horse  had  surely  been 
crushed  down  into  the  mud  beyond  need  of  other 
burial.  But  though  he  had  gained  almost  from 
under,  even  a  twig  strikes  a  shrewd  blow  after 
describing  a  three-hundred-foot  arc,  and  he  lay 
in  the  mud  under  her  eyes,  white  and  still,  with 
an  ugly  bruise  showing  across  his  brow. 
"  Tomas !  Tomas !  Ride  thou  for  help !" 
Crying  it,  she  leaped  from  her  horse,  sank 
beside  Seyd  in  the  mud,  and  lifted  his  head  into 
her  lap.  With  water  from  a  pool  which  was 
soaking  her  skirt  she  laved  the  bruise  with  one 
hand,  intently  studying  his  face;  and  when,  some 
minutes  later,  he  gave  no  sign  of  life,  her  dark 
anxious  eyes  blazed  with  a  sudden  passion  of 
fear.  Gathering  his  head  in  against  her  bosom, 
she  rocked  back  and  forth  with  passionate  mur 
murs:  "Oh,  he  is  dead!  He  is  killed — for  me!" 
But  though,  if  told  of  it,  he  would  have  sworn  that 
such  treatment  would  really  have  brought  him 
back  from  the  dead,  he  neither  felt,  saw,  nor 
heard  the  soft  cradling  arms,  burning  black  eyes, 
the  broken  murmurs  in  English  and  Spanish, 

174 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

He  did  feel  her  lips  when,  stooping  suddenly, 
she  kissed  the  bruise,  because  it  happened  just 
as  her  lowered  face  hid  the  first  quiver  of  his  eye 
lids.  Also  he  felt  the  unconscious  embrace  and 
saw  the  deep  blush  which  told  that  she  knew  he 
had  felt  her  kiss.  But  she  did  not  try  to  avoid 
his  gaze.  From  the  midst  of  her  blushes  she 
answered  it  with  the  bravery  of  love,  discov 
ered  and  unafraid. 

"Querido,  I  had  thought  thee  dead." 
In  the  wonder  of  it,  the  foolish,  tender  wonder, 
Seyd,  on  his  part,  forgot  all  else.  Perhaps  the 
delicate  brain  plexuses  which  govern  memory 
were  still  stunned,  leaving  his  mind  clean  as  a 
new  slate  till  some  stimulus  should  presently  re 
write  upon  it  the  pretty,  common  face  of  his  wife. 
Conscious  only  of  this  new  bursting  love,  he 
reached  up  at  her  murmur  and  pulled  her  face 
down  to  his.  Then  it  came,  the  stimulus.  With 
the  powerful  association  of  some  other  kiss,  the 
moist  clinging  of  her  lips  started  the  wheels  of 
memory,  but,  remembering,  he  did  not  desist. 
For  simultaneously  there  had  burst  upon  him  a 
vision  of  love,  rounded  and  complete,  with  the 
perfect  fullness  which  satisfies  every  instinct  and 
need.  Already  he  had  felt  that  at  every  point 
her  personality  met  and  complemented  his,  and 
in  the  fullness  of  the  realization  his  whole  being 
rose  in  rebellion  against  that  other  tie.  He  was 
kissing  her  with  furious  abandon  when  she  sud 
denly  broke  away. 

175 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Oh,  I  wonder  if  he  saw  us?" 

Looking  quickly  up,  he  saw  Tomas  returning 
through  the  trees.  "I  don't  know,"  he  reas 
sured  her,  "but  I'll  find  out.  If  he  did — just 
leave  him  to  me." 

After  Tomas,  but  at  a  safe  distance,  came 
three  peons  whom  he  had  called  from  the  nearest 
rancho,  also  a  mozo  who  had  been  sent  out  from 
the  meson  to  overtake  and  deliver  a  letter  to 
Seyd. 

"  If  you'll  permit  me?"  he  asked.  But  his  head 
still  swam;  and  when  he  tried  to  read  it  the 
angular  chirography  danced  under  his  eyes,  de 
scribing  such  curious  antics  that  he  was  driven 
at  last  to  ask  her  aid. 

It  was  from  Peters,  the  station  agent,  and  an 
nounced  the  arrival  of  a  consignment  of  American 
provisions;  and,  as  Billy  had  been  condemned  to 
straight  Mexican  diet  for  the  last  two  weeks,  the 
news  called  for  Seyd's  instant  return.  While  the 
soft  voice  was  reciting  its  content  he  oscillated 
between  mixed  feelings  of  chagrin  and  relief,  for 
after  its  long  sleep  outraged  Conscience  was  now 
working  overtime.  He  felt  like  a  hypocrite  when 
she  spoke. 

"You  are  still  weak.     You  must  not  go." 

"I'm  afraid  that  I  shall  have  to." 

"But  suppose  that  you  are  taken  ill  on  the 
way?" 

"The  mo2o  will  be  with  me — anyway,  I'm  all 
right." 

176 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Though  she  looked  disappointed,  she  gave  way 
when  he  explained  Billy's  need;  the  more  readily, 
perhaps,  because  she  felt  within  her  the  stirrings 
of  the  feminine  instinct  to  hide  and  brood  over 
her  new  happiness  all  alone.  The  feeling  even 
formed  her  speech.  "The  poor  senor  Thornton! 
He  must  be  very  lonely  over  there  all  by  himself, 
and  he  must  be  fed.  I  shall  not  mind — for  a  few 
days.  You  have  given  me — so  much  to  think 
about.  But  then — you  will  come?" 

He  groaned  inwardly  at  the  thought  of  that 
which  their  next  meeting  entailed,  and  had  it 
been  possible  he  would  have  preferred  to  make 
open  confession  there  and  then.  As  it  was  not, 
he  let  her  ride  away  with  her  own  clear  happiness 
undimmed,  unconscious  of  the  stab  inflicted  by 
her  last  tender  whisper. 

"Surely  I  shall  come,"  he  had  answered;  and, 
after  mounting  his  horse,  he  sat  and  watched 
her  ride  away  among  the  trees.  When,  with  a 
parting  wave,  she  disappeared,  his  sun  went 
out,  yet  through  his  bitter  feeling  he  remembered 
his  promise. 

"Tomas!"  He  called  the  mozo  back.  Igno 
rant  of  just  how  much  the  fellow  had  seen,  he 
tried  him  out  with  the  Spanish  proverb,  "'The 
saints  are  good  to  the  blind." 

At  the  sight  of  the  five-peso  note  in  Seyd's 
hand  the  mozo's  white  teeth  flashed  in  a  knowing 
grin.  " Si,  senor,"  he  answered  in  kind,  "neither 
do  flies  enter  a  closed  mouth."  And,  pocketing 

177 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  note,  he  galloped  after  his  mistress,  leaving 
Seyd  to  go  his  own  way. 

It  was  not  pleasant,  either,  the  path  that  Seyd 
pursued  the  next  few  days.  Going  back  to  the 
inn,  following  the  mules  out  to  and  back  from  the 
railroad,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  river  with 
Billy's  supplies,  fits  of  rebellion  alternated  with 
moods  of  black  self  reproach. 

"If  you  had  declared  yourself  in  the  beginning 
she  would  never  have  given  you  a  second 
thought." 

Up  to  the  moment  when  he  turned  his  horse's 
head  once  more  toward  San  Nicolas,  a  few  days 
later,  this  formed  the  text  of  his  musings;  and  if 
he  winced  when  the  gold  of  the  hacienda  walls 
broke  along  the  green  foothills  it  was  not  in  pity 
for  himself.  If  it  would  have  freed  her  from  pain 
he  would  have  hugged  his  own  with  the  savage 
exultance  of  a  flagellant.  But  too  well  he  knew 
that  in  these  things  there  is  no  vicarious  atone 
ment,  and  the  face  that  he  carried  into  the  San 
Nicolas  patio  was  so  grim  and  sad  that  it  pro 
voked  Don  Luis's  comment. 

"Senor,  you  are  sick?  Before  she  left  Fran- 
cesca  told  us  of  the  accident.  'Tis  plain  that  you 
are  not  yet  recovered." 

"Before  she— left?" 

Out  of  feeling  in  which  surprise  and  relief 
struggled  with  bitter  disappointment  Seyd's 
question  issued.  At  Don  Luis's  answer  despair 
rolled  over  all. 

178 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Si,  senor.  She  is  gone  to  Europe — for  a 
year." 

Through  his  amazement  and  despair  Seyd  felt 
the  justice  of  the  stroke.  As  yet,  however,  the 
smart  was  too  keen  for  submission.  In  open 
mutiny  once  more  against  the  scheme  of  things, 
he  repeated  the  phrase,  "Gone?  To  Europe?" 

"Si,"  Don  Luis  nodded.  "Our  kinswoman, 
the  senora  Rocha,  mother  of  Sebastien,  has  been 
ailing  for  a  great  while,  and  now  goes  to  Europe 
for  special  doctoring.  As  she  speaks  only  our 
own  tongue,  she  could  not  journey  alone,  and,  like 
the  good  girl  that  she  is,  Francesca  consented  to 
accompany  her." 


CHAPTER  XV 

AS  a  matter  of  fact,  Don  Luis  knew  even  less 
.XX  than  Seyd  of  the  real  reason  behind  his 
niece's  departure.  Like  many  another  and  much 
more  important  event,  it  was  brought  about  by 
the  simplest  of  causes,  which  went  back  to  the 
afternoon  when,  on  her  arrival  at  San  Nicolas, 
Francesca  found  Sebastien  waiting  there  with  the 
news  of  his  mother's  illness. 

First  in  the  sequence  of  cause  and  effect  which 
sent  her  away  stands  Seyd's  five-peso  note;  next, 
Pancho,  Sebastien 's  mozo,  for  the  conjunction  of 
these  two  gave  birth  to  the  event.  Ordinarily, 
that  is,  when  in  full  possession  of  his  simple  wits, 
Tomas,  Francesca's  mozo,  would  have  suffered 
crucifixion  in  her  cause,  and  had  he  chosen  any 
other  than  Pancho  to  assist  in  the  transmutation 
of  Seyd's  note  into  alcohol  at  the  San  Nicolas 
wine  shop  the  process  would  have  been  accom 
plished  without  damage  to  aught  but  his  own 
head.  But  when  in  the  cause  of  their  tipplings 
Pancho  began  to  enlarge  on  the  benefits  that 
would  follow  to  all  from  the  blending  of  their 
respective  houses  by  marriage  Tomas  began  to 
writhe  under  the  itch  of  secret  and  superior 

180 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

knowledge.  From  knowing  winks  he  progressed 
to  mysterious  hints,  and  finally  ended  with  a 
clean  confession  of  all  he  had  seen  that  after 
noon. 

"But  this  is  not  to  be  spoken  of,  hombre"  he 
warned  Pancho,  with  solemn  hiccoughs,  at  the 
close.  "By  the  grave  of  thy  father,  let  not  even 
a  whisper  forth." 

As  being  less  difficult  to  find  in  a  country  where 
parenthood  is  more  easily  traced  on  the  feminine 
side,  Pancho  swore  to  it  by  the  grave  of  his 
mother.  But,  though  he  added  thereto  those  of 
his  aunts,  grandmother,  and  entire  female  line, 
the  combined  weight  still  failed  to  balance  such 
astonishing  news.  Inflamed  by  thoughts  of  the 
prestige  he  would  gain  in  his  master's  sight,  he 
moderated  his  potations.  After  he  had  seen 
Tomas  comfortably  bestowed  under  the  cantina 
table  he  carried  the  tale  straight  to  Sebastien's 
room. 

In  this,  however,  he  showed  more  zeal  than 
discretion,  for  in  lieu  of  the  expected  prestige 
he  got  a  blow  in  the  mouth  which  laid  him  out 
in  a  manner  convenient  for  the  quirting  of  his 
life.  Not  until  Sebastien's  arm  tired  did  he  gain 
permission  to  retire,  whimpering,  to  his  straw  in 
the  stable;  and  next  morning  both  he  and  Tomas 
trembled  for  their  lives  when  Sebastien  arraigned 
them  before  him. 

"Listen,  dogs!"  He  struck  them  with  his 
whip  across  their  faces.  "For  this  piece  of  lying 

181 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  tongues  of  you  both  should  be  pulled  out  by 
the  roots.  If  I  spare  you  it  is  because  until  now 
you  have  both  been  faithful  servants.  But  re 
member!"  He  swore  to  it  with  an  oath  so  fright 
fully  sacrilegious  that  both  shrank  in  anticipation 
of  a  bolt  from  the  skies.  "But  remember!  If 
ever,  drunk  or  sober,  there  proceeds  out  of  either 
of  you  one  further  word  'twill  surely  be  done." 

Leaving  them  shaking,  he  passed  out  and  on 
upstairs  to  the  patio  where  Francesca  was  sitting, 
with  Roberta  at  her  knees,  in  the  shade  of  the 
corrector's  green  arches.  The  drone  of  hummers, 
fluting  of  birds  in  the  patio  garden  set  her  soft 
musings  to  pleasant  music,  and  she  looked  up 
with  sudden  vexation  at  the  jangle  of  his  spurs. 

"So  this  is  the  child  that  we  have  renamed  in 
his  honor?" 

Last  night  they  had  parted  better  friends  than 
usual,  for  out  of  the  pity  bred  of  her  own  realized 
love  she  had  done  her  best  to  please  him.  Love 
had  also  sharpened  her  naturally  sensitive  per 
ceptions.  Divining  his  knowledge  from  the  con 
centrated  anger  of  his  look,  she  rose,  instinctively 
nerving  herself  for  the  encounter. 

"Just  so."  He  divined,  in  turn,  her  feeling. 
"Between  those  who  understand  words  are 
wasted.  Send  the  child  away." 

As  he  said  "understand"  a  surge  of  passion 
wiped  out  the  weary  lines  left  by  a  night  of  hate. 
But  while  the  child  was  passing  along  the  corridor 
he  controlled  it  and  became  his  usual  sardonic 

182 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

self.  He  was  beginning  "  Thanks  to  the  excellent 
Tomas — "  when  she  interrupted  with  an  angry 
gesture. 

"  Then  it  was  he !     I'll  have  him—" 

"Caramba!"  He  shrugged.  "What  a  heat! 
But  easy — do  not  blame  Tomas  for  your  gringo's 
fault.  What  else  could  you  expect  from  a  peon 
that  found  himself  enriched  at  a  stroke?  The 
wonder  is  that  he  did  not  proclaim  his  news  from 
your  topmost  wall.  Be  content  that  he  will 
never  whisper  one  word  again." 

"You  didn't — "  she  began,  alarmed  now  for 
her  servant. 

"No.  Pancho,  to  whom  he  told  it,  I  flogged 
for  the  liar  he  now  thinks  Tomas,  and  Tomas — 
is  trembling  for  his  tongue.  Except  between  us 
the  matter  is  dead.  Yet  Tomas  served  his  pur 
pose.  Thanks  to  him,  we  may  now  pass  words 
and  come  to  terms." 

"Terms?"     She  faltered  it  after  a  silence. 

"Terms!"  he  repeated,  gravely.  "That  is,  if 
you  would  save  your  gringo  alive.  Supposing 
this  were  to  escape  to  the  good  uncle?  Soft  as 
he  has  been  with  these  gringos  of  late,  supposing 
that  he  were  to  hear  of  both  this  and  that  other 
night  in  the  hut,  how  long,  think  you,  would  the 
man  last?" 

Her  eyes  told.  After  a  pause  her  mouth 
opened  with  a  small  gasp.  "You — oh!  you  will 
not?" 

"Not  if  you  obey.     Now  see  you,  Francesca," 

183 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

He  dropped  into  a  tone  of  grave  confidence  which 
was  really  winning.  "If  I  had  not  known  that 
his  death  at  my  hands  would  place  you  forever 
beyond  me  the  man  had  never  seen  the  dawn  of 
another  day.  Whether  he  sees  its  setting  de 
pends  on  you.  If  you  will  go  with  my  mother 
to  Europe — " 

"Si — if — I — go?"  It  issued  between  pauses 
of  pain  after  a  long  silence. 

"He  lives.  I  will  even  protect  him  till  he 
arrives  at  the  end  of  his  fool's  rope." 

"And— then?" 

"There  will  be  no  'then.'  I  know  these 
gringos.  They  will  disappear  like  their  vanishing 
gold." 

Her  slight  flush  indicated  defiant  unbelief.  But 
knowing  that  this  was  in  deadly  earnest,  that 
Seyd's  life  hung  by  a  hair,  she  let  him  go  on.  "  Let 
there  be  no  misunderstanding.  I  shall  require 
your  promise,  on  the  word  of  a  Garcia,  not  to 
attempt  communication."  He  added,  turning 
away,  perhaps  in  pity  for  the  misery  of  her  face: 
"There  is  no  hurry.  Take  time  to  think  it  over 
— an  hour,  two  if  you  wish." 

He  could  easily  afford,  too,  the  concession,  for 
her  love  was  playing  into  his  hands.  None  knew 
better  than  she  that  a  contrary  answer  would 
make  of  Seyd  an  Ishmaelite  with  every  man's 
hand  raised  against  his  life.  He  could  never 
escape.  With  that  dread  fact  staring  her  in  the 
face  she  could  give  but  one  answer;  and  while, 

184 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

later,  she  spent  hours  pacing  her  bedroom  in 
restless  strivings  to  find  a  way  out,  she  reached 
her  decision  before  he  gained  the  end  of  the 
gallery. 

"I  will  go." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

E ALLY,  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of  it. 
That  last  car  load  of  machinery  rusted 
for  a  month  in  the  damp  heat  of  the  Tehuantepec 
tropics  before  we  got  it  traced.  It  has  happened 
so  often  now  that  I'm  almost  tempted  to  suspect 
a  design." 

Seyd's  complaint  to  Peters,  the  agent,  nearly 
a  year  later  summed  the  exasperating  experiences 
which  had  retarded  the  building  of  the  new 
smelter.  Beginning  before  the  end  of  the  last 
flood,  the  failure  in  deliveries  had  multiplied  as 
the  work  of  construction  proceeded,  until  it 
seemed  to  Seyd  that  his  material  had  been  dis 
tributed  on  a  thousand  side  tracks  by  an  im 
partial  hand.  While  two  high-priced  American 
mechanics  had  spent  their  expensive  leisure 
shooting  and  fishing  he  had  spent  most  of  his  own 
time  tracing  the  shipments,  and  now,  with  the 
rains  almost  due  again,  another  month  would  be 
required  to  finish  the  work. 

"You  have  sure  had  your  share  of  bad  luck." 
While  sympathizing  with  him,  Peters  discouraged 
the  idea  of  premeditation.  "You  don't  know 
these  Mexican  roads.  Our  charter  calls  for  the 

186 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

employment  of  sixty -five  per  cent,  of  Mexican 
help,  and,  if  you'll  believe  me,  that  means  six 
hundred  per  cent,  of  inefficiency.  Take  this  mozo 
of  mine.  He's  been  with  me  six  years.  But, 
though  I  show  him  the  correct  way  to  do  a  thing 
a  thousand  times,  the  moment  my  back  is  turned 
he'll  go  at  it  in  some  fool  wrong-headed  way  of 
his  own.  The  wonder  to  me  is  not,  that  your 
freight  goes  wrong,  but  that  it  ever  arrives. 
Nevertheless,  you've  had,  as  I  say,  your  fill  of 
bad  luck.  If  I  were  you  I'd  just  jump  the  up 
train — she's  due  in  twenty  minutes — and  call  on 
the  general  traffic  manager  in  Mexico  City.  He 
can  do  more  for  you  in  five  minutes  than  I  can 
in  ten  days." 

It  was  sound  advice.  Quick  always  to  per 
ceive  advantage,  Seyd  answered,  "Give  me  a 
ticket." 

Because  of  his  isolation,  the  agent's  wells  of 
speech  were  always  brimming,  and  while  waiting 
for  the  train  he  delivered  himself  of  several  pieces 
of  news.  "By  the  way,  Don  Luis  went  up  yes 
terday  to  lodge  a  protest  with  the  government 
against  the  dam  a  gringo  company  is  building 
across  the  valley  fifty  miles  north  of  San  Nicolas. 
It  is  located  just  below  the  Barranca  de  Tigres, 
a  canon  that  drains  all  the  watershed  west  of  the 
volcano.  They  have  cloudbursts  up  there,  and 
when  one  lets  go — well,  old  Noah's  deluge  isn't 
in  it.  When  I  was  hunting  jaguar  in  the  canon 
a  couple  of  years  ago  I  saw  watermarks  a  hun- 

13  187 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

dred  and  fifty  feet  up  the  mountainside.  Boul 
ders  big  as  churches  were  piled  up  in  the  bed 
of  the  stream  like  pebbles,  and  if  that  dam  was 
built  of  solid  concrete  instead  of  clay  they'd  go 
through  it  like  it  was  dough.  Though  I'd  be  the 
last  man  to  go  back  on  my  own  folks,  I'm  bound 
to  confess  that  we  do  carry  some  things  with  a 
bit  too  high  a  hand.  If  that  dam  ever  breaks, 
the  wave  will  sweep  the  barranca  clean  between 
its  walls.  But,  Lordy !  that  won't  cut  any  figure 
with  the  paint-eaters  that  hedge  in  Diaz.  To 
secure  a  rake-off  they'd  see  all  Guerrero  drown, 
and  I'm  doubting  that  the  General's  kick  will  do 
any  good." 

Seyd  nodded.  "No,  the  times  are  against 
him — both  in  this  and  his  other  efforts  to  hold 
back  civilization.  So  far,  he  and  Sebastien  have 
succeeded  pretty  well  in  checking  it  here  in 
Guerrero.  But  it  is  creeping  in  around  them — 
some  day  will  flow  over  their  heads.  They  might 
as  well  stand  in  the  path  of  a  barranca  flood." 

The  naming  of  Sebastien  brought  the  second 
piece  of  news.  "That  reminds  me — you  almost 
had  him  for  a  fellow  traveler.  I  forwarded  a 
cable  message  last  night  that  his  mother  had  died 
in  France.  I  rather  thought  that  he'd  be  in  for 
this  train." 

"Then  she  is  coming  back?" 

Seyd  meant  Francesca.  But  Peters  misun 
derstood.  "Yes,  they've  shipped  her  by  a  Ger 
man  line  that  runs  to  Havana  and  Vera  Cruz. 

188 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

By  mistake  the  cable  was  sent  to  another  Rocha 
somewhere  up  in  Sinaloa,  and,  being  a  Mexican, 
he  slept  on  it  a  week  before  replying  that  his 
mother  was  there,  quite  lively  and  frisky  at 
home.  So  it  arrived  here  ten  days  late — long 
enough  to  put  Miss  Francesca  and  her  mother 
into  Vera  Cruz.  Yes,  the  senora  was  there — 
had  just  joined  them — luckily,  for  death  is  too 
grim  a  thing  for  a  young  girl  to  face  by  herself." 
Just  then  the  train  drew  into  the  station,  and  as 
Seyd  climbed  on,  he  added:  "If  you  could  find 
time  to  pass  the  word  on  to  Don  Luis  he'd  surely 
appreciate  it.  He  puts  up  at  the  Iturbide." 

Seyd's  nod  was  purely  automatic,  for  the  news 
had  loosed  once  more  bitter  tides  which  had  lain 
dormant  these  last  few  months  under  the  weight 
of  his  business  cares.  Unconscious,  too,  of  the 
import  that  events  would  presently  give  to  such 
apparently  trivial  consent,  he  nodded  again  when 
Peters  asked  permission  to  look  through  a  batch 
of  American  papers  which  had  come  for  him  by 
yesterday's  mail. 

For  that  matter,  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  discern  anything  unusual  or  alarming  in  the 
spectacle  of  Peters  as  he  sat  in  his  office  after  the 
departure  of  the  train,  heels  on  the  table  and 
chair  comfortably  tilted,  while  he  slit,  one  after 
the  other,  the  covers  of  Seyd's  papers.  Yet 
while  he  smoked  and  read  his  way  down  through 
the  pile  he  unconsciously  but  surely  prepared 
the  way  for  the  event  which  was  approaching 

189 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

at  the  top  speed  of  Sebastien's  horse.  Had  he 
read,  or  Sebastien  ridden,  a  little  faster  or  slower 
things  had  gone  differently.  But,  just  as  though 
it  had  been  predoomed  and  destined,  eyes  and 
hoofs  kept  perfect  time.  Just  as  Peters  opened 
Seyd's  Albuquerque  paper  Sebastien  walked  in. 

"Left — an  hour  ago."  Yawning,  Peters  laid 
down  the  Albuquerque  paper  on  top  of  the  pile, 
and  as  the  train  usually  ran  from  two  to  twelve 
hours  late  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in 
the  year  he  lent  a  sympathetic  ear  to  Sebastien's 
vitriolic  curses. 

"I  can  wire  for  a  special,"  he  suggested. 
"They  could  send  an  engine  and  car  down  from 
Cuernavaca  in  little  more  than  an  hour." 

"If  you  will  be  so  kind,  senor." 

In  all  Guerrero,  Peters  was  the  one  gringo  with 
whom  Sebastien  was  on  speaking  terms,  and  he 
now  accepted  both  a  cigar  and  a  paper  to  while 
away  the  time.  After  one  glance  had  shown  it  to 
be  a  gringo  sheet  he  would  have  cast  it  aside,  but 
the  one  word  "Mexico!"  in  scare  heads  caught 
his  eye.  Setting  forth  the  international  com 
plications  that  were  likely  to  come  from  the 
lynching  of  a  Mexican  in  Arizona,  it  held  his 
interest.  He  not  only  read  it  to  the  bottom  of 
the  column,  but  followed  over  to  the  next  page, 
upon  which  heavy  ink  lines  had  been  scored 
around  a  local  article. 

As  the  heading  caught  his  eye  he  started, 
looked  again,  then  bent  over  the  paper  and  read 

190 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

to  the  end.  For  a  few  seconds  thereafter  he  sat 
thinking.  A  stealthy  glance  showed  Peters  at 
the  key  clicking  off  the  call  for  the  special. 
Quietly  folding  the  paper,  he  slid  it  beneath  his 
coat. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WITH  Seyd  and  his  cargo  of  reflections 
^_^  aboard,  the  train  meanwhile  puffed  stead 
ily  up  the  four-per-cent.  grades  which  carry  the 
railway  eleven  thousand  feet  high  to  the  shoulder 
of  the  old  giant  volcano,  Ajuasoa.  While  he 
stared  out  of  the  window  the  vivid  panorama  of 
the  hot  country,  the  green  seas  of  corn  or  cane 
which  surged  around  white- walled  haciendas,  the 
chocolate  peons  behind  their  wooden  plows,  and 
the  pretty  brown  girls  at  the  stations  gradually 
gave  place  to  volcanic  lava  fields  and  gloomy 
woods  of  pinon,  and  these  again  merged  into  the 
innumerable  hamlets  which  spread  brown  adobe 
skirts  around  Mexico  City  unseen  by  him. 

"She  is  coming  back!  She  is  coming  back!" 
It  ran  all  the  while  in  his  mind,  and  formed  the 
undertone  of  his  conversation  with  Don  Luis  in 
the  patio  of  the  Iturbide  that  evening.  When  the 
old  man  stated  his  intention  of  taking  the  night 
train  down  to  the  Gulf  it  was  only  by  a  powerful 
effort  that  Seyd  avoided  the  lunacy  of  offering 
to  accompany  him.  All  that  night  he  burned 
in  a  flame  of  feeling,  and  as  a  consequence  he 
rose  tired  out  and  presented  such  a  picture  of 

192 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

meekness  when  ushered  into  the  office  of  the 
general  manager,  one  so  opposite  to  the  usual 
fiery  mien  of  the  wronged  shipper,  that  the  stony 
heart  of  the  official  was  melted  within  him. 

"You  certainly  have  a  kick  coming,"  he  ad 
mitted.  "A  big  one,  at  that.  I'll  look  into 
this  myself,  and  if  you'll  please  return  at  four  I 
hope  to  have  news  of  your  freight." 

In  their  passage  down  through  the  depart 
ments,  however,  his  inquiries  soon  came  to  a 
stop.  "  So  this  is  the  fellow  who  has  been  buck 
ing  old  General  Garcia  in  the  Barranca  de  Guer 
rero?"  he  commented  to  his  third  assistant;  and 
his  further  remarks  were  equally  enlightening. 
"  Well,  politics  are  politics,  but  this  has  gone  far 
enough.  I  like  the  boy's  looks,  and  this  railroad 
isn't  going  to  be  used  to  fight  the  General's 
battles  any  longer.  After  this,  Mr.  Chauvez,  see 
that  Mr.  Seyd  gets  his  freight.  Where  is  that 
last  car?" 

The  third  assistant's  shoulders  executed  the 
Latin  equivalent  of  "Search  me!"  At  last  news, 
peon  "brakies"  on  the  Nacional  had  been  using 
it  as  a  roller  coaster  on  the  mountain  grades 
going  down  to  Monterey.  If  Providence  had 
intervened  before  it  ran  oft  into  the  sea  Mr. 
Chauvez  opined  that  it  would  most  likely  be 
found  on  that  city's  wharves.  All  of  which, 
after  some  clicking  and  humming  of  wires,  cul 
minated  in  the  manager's  report  to  Seyd  at  four. 

"It  seems  that  your  freight  was  switched  by 

193 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

mistake  over  to  Monterey.  If  you  leave  it  to 
us" — his  stern  eye  loosed  a  twinkle — "you'll 
probably  get  it  sometime  in  the  next  six  months. 
But  if  you'll  take  these  passes  for  the  evening 
train  and  hunt  it  up  yourself  you  can  have  it 
tagged  onto  the  train  that  leaves  to-morrow 
night." 

Though  the  vicissitudes  of  thirty  years'  rail 
roading  had  almost  petrified  his  heart,  the  organ 
stirred  faintly  as  Seyd  returned  hearty  thanks. 
Watching  him  go  out,  he  even  muttered:  "It's 
a  damned  shame!  But  I'll  take  care  that  he's 
bothered  no  more." 

More  grateful  on  his  part  than  he  had  any 
legal  right  to  be,  Seyd  would  have  been  better 
pleased  had  the  passes  read  to  Vera  Cruz.  Know 
ing  that  Francesca  must  pass  through  Mexico 
City  on  her  way  home,  he  would  have  preferred 
even  to  stay  where  he  was.  But  the  thought  of 
Billy  fretting  himself  thin  at  the  mine  reinforced 
his  naturally  strong  sense  of  duty,  and  he  took 
the  train  out  that  night.  And  his  steadfastness 
made  for  his  good.  During  his  three  days' 
absence  the  flame  of  feeling  which  was  consuming 
his  resolution  and  blinding  his  thought  burned 
itself  out.  The  morning  after  he  had  seen  his 
car  billed  through  to  his  own  station  he  rose  with 
his  mind  clear  and  a  renewed  purpose  to  do  the 
right  thing. 

"At  the  first  favorable  opportunity  I  shall  tell 
her,"  he  told  himself,  in  the  coach  going  down  to 

194 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  station.  With  the  thought  strong  in  his 
mind  he  stepped  on  the  train  and — came  face  to 
face  with  Francesca  herself. 

"Oh!  it  is  you!" 

"I — I — thought  you  were  already  gone!" 

While  he  blushed  and  stammered  confusedly 
his  senses,  nevertheless,  took  cognizance  of  the 
fluttering  rush  of  her  hands,  the  happy  eyes  in 
the  midst  of  her  flushes,  other  things  that  an 
swered,  without  words,  several  questions  which 
had  greatly  perplexed  him.  Whatever  the  cause 
behind  her  long  silence,  it  was  neither  the  resur 
rection  of  her  racial  pride  nor,  as  he  had  some 
times  suspected,  her  discovery  of  his  marriage. 
Indeed,  her  very  next  words  gave  him  an  inkling. 

"You  must  have  wondered  why  I  did  not 
write?  But  I — could  not  help  it."  She  glanced 
at  her  mother,  who,  with  eloquent  hands,  was 
telegraphing  him  welcome  from  the  other  end  of 
the  car.  "I  will  tell  you  later— all." 

In  his  surprise  and  gladness  his  mind  still  clung 
to  his  resolve,  and,  nearly  as  possible,  he  kept 
his  pact  with  himself.  "I  also  have  something 
to  tell." 

She  looked  up  quickly.  But  his  eyes  indicated 
no  diminution  of  the  old  feeling.  Satisfied,  she 
asked,  with  a  little  sigh:  "The  mine?  Some 
thing  gone  wrong?  You  will  tell  us — now." 

The  senora,  who  had  caught  the  last  sentence, 
added  her  word.  "Si,  for  we,  you  know,  are 
your  friends."  Making  room  for  him  by  her 

195 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

side,  she  punctuated  his  tale  of  the  summer's  mis 
haps  with  pitiful  exclamations,  and  comforted 
him  at  the  end  with  maternal  solicitude.  "Si, 
at  the  first  glance  I  saw  it,  that  you  had  suf 
fered.  But,  courage,  amigo,  it  will  make  for  your 
greater  enjoyment  in  the  end." 

Francesca  had  taken  the  seat  opposite,  and, 
catching  her  eye  just  then,  Seyd  saw,  along  with 
the  sympathy  and  understanding,  a  gleam  of 
exultation.  "  You  suffered,  si,  but  I'm  glad  for — 
'twas  for  me."  Her  glance  said  it  plainly  as 
words,  and  he  ached  to  answer  it;  but,  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  honest  course  he  had  laid  out 
for  himself,  he  refrained,  and  went  on  talking  to 
her  mother. 

"Don  Luis,"  she  answered  his  question,  "is  in 
the  front  car  with  Sebastien — in  attendance  on 
our  dear  friend,  his  mother." 

He  knew  that  he  had  no  part  in  their  grief,  and, 
tentatively,  he  began,  "If  I  can  be  of  any 
help—" 

Divining  his  feeling  from  the  pause,  she  an 
swered  at  once :  "  You  are  very  kind.  Francesca, 
poor  niha,  has  been  under  a  great  strain.  'Twill 
be  a  mercy  if  you  will  stay  here  and  talk." 

Now  that  her  first  blushes  had  died,  he  could 
«ee  it  for  himself.  Her  smile  added  the  soft 
confession,  "You  did  not  suffer  alone." 

Under  her  look  Seyd  felt  his  resolution  weaken; 
to  save  it  he  looked  out  of  the  window,  whereupon 
it  gained  strength  from  the  ihought'of  his  im- 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

pending  confession.  But  it  relaxed  again  the 
next  time  their  glances  met;  and,  as  love  is  an 
anarchist  who  scoffs  alike  at  law  and  death,  their 
communications  proceeded  with  alternate  thaw- 
ings  and  freezings,  while,  in  reverse  order,  the 
black  lava  fields  and  gloomy  pinon  gave  place  to 
the  painted  hamlets,  pink  churches,  and  villages 
of  huts  in  green  seas  of  corn.  Yet,  if  a  little 
worse  for  wear,  his  resolution  held.  Indeed,  it 
found  definite  expression  when  the  train  stopped 
at  last  at  their  station. 

"I  must  see  you  soon!"  he  said,  as  they  went 
out.  "I  have  something  very  serious  to  say." 

Once  more  she  looked  up  quickly.  "We  shall 
be  at  El  Quiss,  Sebastien's  place,  for  three  days. 
After  that  you  will  find  me  at  home.  But  do  not 
come  alone!"  The  hasty  addition  threw  more 
light  on  the  causes  behind  her  sudden  departure. 
"As  you  value  your  life — nay,  you  were  always 
careless  of  that — promise,  for  my  sake,  that  you 
will  not  come  alone?  When  you  go  out  any 
where  take  with  you  at  least  one  man." 

"Is  it  so  serious  as  that?"  But  he  stopped 
laughing  when  he  saw  she  was  hurt.  "There! 
I  promise!" 

She  paid  him,  alighting,  with  a  clasp  of  her 
hand  that  left  its  soft  clinging  pressure  tingling 
after  she  disappeared  in  the  crowd  of  ranche- 
ros  and  hacendados,  Sebastien's  retainers  and 
friends,  who  filled  the  station.  His  sharp  gray 
eye  had  already  singled  out  his  car  on  a  side 

197 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

track,  and  while  he  waited  for  the  agent  Se- 
bastien  and  Don  Luis  passed,  walking  behind  the 
coffin. 

He  was  seen,  moreover,  by  them,  and  after 
they  had  mounted  and  were  riding  side  by  side 
at  the  head  of  the  funeral  procession  Sebastien 
spoke.  "Your  gringo  was  at  the  station." 

Don  Luis  nodded.  "  Si,  he  came  down  on  the 
train." 

After  a  silence  Sebastien  spoke  again.  "It 
seems  that  he  has  been  having  trouble  with  his 
freight." 

Ignoring  the  subtle  suggestion  conveyed  by 
the  accent,  Don  Luis  laconically  answered,  "He 
is  not  the  first." 

"But  will  be  the  last.  Ernestino  Chauvez,  my 
second  cousin,  is  in  the  department  of  freights. 
Yesterday  he  told  me  that,  by  special  order,  there 
are  to  be  no  more  miscarriages  of  this  man's 
freight." 

The  heavy  brown  mask  refused  even  a  sign. 
"This  had  better  happened  a  year  ago." 

"Then  he  is  near  the  end  of  his  rope?"  Sebas 
tien  leaped  to  the  conclusion. 

"His  first  note  of  hand  to  me  is  due  next 
month." 

"And—" 

Don  Luis's  massive  shoulders  rose.  "How 
should  I  know,  amigo,  what  money  he  has?" 

"But  if  he  pay  not?" 

Again  Don  Luis  shrugged.     "Sebastien,  how 

198 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

often  am  I  to  tell  it — that  no  gringo  shall  force 
in  on  my  lands." 

In  happy  ignorance  as  yet  of  the  significance 
implied  in  their  conversation,  Seyd  at  that 
moment  was  reading  and  rereading,  with  incredu 
lous  joy,  a  newspaper  clipping  which  had  been 
forwarded  by  a  friend  in  Albuquerque. 

MRS.     ROBERT     SEYD,     WIFE     OF     PROMINENT 
MINING   ENGINEER,    GRANTED   DIVORCE 

The  content  below  ran  as  is  usual  when  femi 
nine  enthusiasm  over  its  wrongs  has  been  un 
checked  by  fear  of  a  reply,  and  in  handing  down 
his  decision  the  local  Dogberry — who  was  un 
aware  that  the  notice  of  the  plaintiff's  remarriage 
would  appear  in  the  same  issue  with  his  remarks 
— had  pronounced  it  the  most  heartless  case  of 
desertion  in  all  his  experience  upon  the  bench. 
Reading  a  second  clipping  which  set  forth  the 
marriage,  Seyd  indulged  in  a  grin.  But  this 
quickly  faded.  Pity  and  sympathy  colored  his 
remark. 

"Poor  thing!  I  hope  she'll  be  happy."  Self 
reproach  vibrated  in  the  addition,  "She  was  not, 
never  could  have  been,  with  me." 

With  that  she  passed  out  of  his  thought  just 
as  she  had  already  gone  from  his  life.  His 
mind  leaped  to  review  the  consequences.  Free! 
Free !  In  the  first  flush  of  his  joy  he  exulted  over 

199 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  fact  that  his  intended  confession  was  now 
unnecessary.  But  later  and  more  sober  reflec 
tions  caused  him  to  shake  his  head. 

"No!"  He  laid  down  the  law  peremptorily 
for  himself.  "There's  been  enough  and  to  spare 
of  shilly-shallying.  You  will  go  to  her  and  tell 
her — all!  And  if  she  refuses  you  there'll  be  no 
one  to  blame  but  yourself." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

IN  the  calendar  of  love  days  count  as  weeks, 
months  as  years;  but,  though  the  following 
week  conformed  to  this  universal  law,  Seyd  man 
aged  to  extract  from  its  laggard  hours  his  modi 
cum  of  joy.  Following  the  mules  on  two  trips 
between  the  mine  and  station  he  lived  in  a  glow 
of  feeling,  the  natural  reaction  of  his  late  despair. 
By  turns  relief,  joy,  hope  governed  his  reflections, 
finally  uniting  in  optimism  that  drowned  his  cus 
tomary  caution.  Whereas  only  a  week  ago  he 
had  begun  to  plan  for  a  trip  home  to  California  to 
raise  money  to  meet  their  first  note  he  now  de 
termined  to  put  it  off  until  he  should  have  seen 
Don  Luis,  and  then,  if  necessary,  send  Billy. 

"I'll  call  on  him  immediately  after  the  funeral," 
he  said,  talking  it  over  with  Billy.  "If  he  de 
mands  his  pound  of  flesh  there'll  still  be  time  for 
you  to  go  north." 

This  settled,  he  had  gone  about  his  business  in 
happier  mood  than  he  had  known  for  many  a 
year.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  the  tangled  run 
of  his  life  was  beginning  to  unfold  straight  and 
plain.  But  while  he  worked,  the  evil  fates  which 
had  made  such  a  ravel  in  his  personal  skein  were 

201 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

equally  busy  inventing  fresh  tangles.  On  the 
day  that  saw  at  once  the  delivery  of  the  last 
piece  of  machinery  and  the  arrival  of  the  first 
seasonal  rain  Sebastien  and  Francesca  joined 
battle  at  the  El  Quiss  hacienda. 

Until,  the  morning  after  the  funeral,  Sebastien 
called  her  aside  to  thank  her  for  her  care  of  his 
mother  she  had  shown  him  only  the  sympathy 
due  his  sorrow.  But  under  it  resentment  still 
smoldered,  and  it  was  fanned  to  a  flame  by  his 
accidental  expression. 

"It  was  the  kinder  because  I  had  forced  you 
away.  If  I  can  make  any  return — " 

"You  can."  She  filled  his  pause.  "During 
the  last  six  months  I  had  time  for  reflection,  and 
the  more  I  thought  of  it  the  more  I  wondered  at 
myself  for  my  easy  yielding  to  your  will.  It  is 
not  that  I  was  unwilling  to  do  that  or  more  for 
your  mother.  But  to  be  sent  away  like  a 
naughty  school  girl  under  a  solemn  vow  against 
correspondence — ' ' 

"The  price  of  your  consent,  you  remember, 
was  the  gringo's  life?"  His  eye  lit  with  the  old 
saturnine  sparkle.  "As  you  see,  he  still  cumbers 
good  Mexican  earth." 

"You  dared  not  have  harmed  him  in  any 
case." 

"No?" 

"No."  She  met  without  flinching  his  look  of 
sarcastic  interrogation.  "Porfirio  Diaz  will  not 

stand  for  the  killing  of  Americanos.     As  you  well 

202 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

know,  Sebastien,  he  would  surely  have  hunted 
you  down." 

"If  there  had  been  any  to  tell?  Even  your 
folly  would  hardly  have  arisen  to  that." 

"'Twould  not  have  been  necessary.  If  I  had 
warned  him,  placed  your  threat  on  record  with 
his  friends,  'twere  sufficient.  If  not,  there  is 
still  another  argument  that  would  have  held 
you." 

"And  that?" 

"The  sure  knowledge  that  I  would  hate  you 
forever." 

"Good  reasons,  both  of  them."  He  shrugged. 
"But  you  overlook  the  fact,  my  cousin,  that  a 
whisper  in  the  ear  of  the  good  uncle  would  have 
taken  the  matter  out  of  my  hands." 

"That  would  not  have  cleared  you — with  me. 
Now  listen,  Sebastien.  I  yielded  because  at  the 
time  it  seemed  the  only  way,  and  after  I  realized 
my  folly  I  still  lived  up  to  my  promise.  But 
now  I  give  you  warning.  Henceforth  I  shall  not 
permit  your  interference  in  my  affairs." 

"Your  love  affairs?" 

"Bueno!"  Looking  him  straight  in  the  eye, 
she  accepted  the  correction.  "  My  love  affairs." 

"It  will  not  be  necessary." 

Instead  of  the  violent  outburst  she  expected 
he  stood  looking  at  her,  in  his  eyes  a  peculiar 
light  half  of  pity,  half  vindictive.  A  trifle  non 
plussed,  she  returned  his  gaze.  Perhaps,  with 
feminine  inconsistency,  she  was  not  altogether 

14  203 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

pleased  by  his  tame  acceptance,  for  her  color  rose 
and  one  small  foot  tapped  the  polished  floor  tiles. 
"I  am  glad  you  take  it  so  reasonably." 

Again  he  failed  with  the  expected  outburst,  and 
her  uneasiness  grew  in  correspondence  with  the 
pity  in  his  glance.  "You  mistake  me.  I  said  it 
would  be  unnecessary.  Read!" 

He  turned  and  went  out,  a  mercy  she  appre 
ciated  when,  after  a  puzzled  glance  at  the  paper 
he  had  stolen  from  Peters,  her  eye  was  guided 
by  the  heavy  ink  scorings  to  the  article  that  set 
forth  Seyd's  divorce.  At  first  she  hardly  realized 
its  import.  But  when  she  did — surely  the  hand 
that  guided  the  pen  had  achieved  revenge  far 
beyond  its  owner's  blackest  hope!  Going  out, 
Sebastien  heard  the  paper  crackle.  Looking 
back,  he  saw  her  standing  frozen,  eyes  wide  and 
black  in  her  mute  white  face;  and,  stricken  with 
sudden  pity,  he  softly  closed  the  door. 

But  he  did  not  go  away.  He  knew  her  too 
well.  Given  her  wild  Irish  blood  plus  her  Spanish 
pride  there  could  come  but  one  result,  and  while 
she  struggled  toward  it  within  he  paced  the 
corredor  without.  When  at  last  she  opened  the 
door  and  came  on  him  there  he  knew  that  he  had 
won  by  the  scorn  that  set  her  soft  mouth  in 
straight  red  lines.  In  the  dusk  of  the  corredor 
her  face  loomed,  pale  and  drawn,  the  eyes  red  and 
swollen.  But  when  she  saw  the  deep  pity  in  his 
stern  eyes  her  own  lost  something  of  their 
hardness. 

204 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"You  were  always  kind — and  wise."  Her 
mouth  quivering,  she  gave  him  both  hands. 
"  'T would  have  made  for  my  good  had  I  listened 
to  you  more." 

For  him  it  was  a  perilous  moment.  The  touch 
of  her  hands  aroused  an  intense  desire  to  seize  and 
comfort  her  with  kisses.  Had  he  given  way  to 
it  she  would  have  surely  been  shocked  out  of  the 
resolution  that  had  been  born  of  her  anger  and 
shame.  But  the  habit  of  years  enabled  him  to 
keep  the  impulse  under  restraint.  She  went 
quietly  to  the  end. 

"I  am  very  grateful — I  would  like  to  make 
some  return.  If  we  had  not  grown  up  together 
I  should  no  doubt  have  loved  you  from  the  begin 
ning  in  the  way  you  wished,  for  you  are  closer 
to  the  man  of  my  girlish  dreams  than  any  other 
I  have  ever  known."  She  smiled  wanly.  "He 
does  not  exist,  my  dream  man,  or,  if  he  did,  what 
use  could  he  have  for  such  a  wild,  naughty  girl  as 
I?  So,  if  you  still  want  me — " 

"Want  you!"  He  would  have  drawn  her  to 
him,  but  she  pulled  back. 

"Not  yet!  I  like  you,  have  always  loved  you 
— in  a  sisterly  way.  I  must  have  time  to  change 
my  viewpoint.  Give  me  a  month?" 

"  And  then— " 

"If  you  still  wish  it  I  will  be  your  wife." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

S  before  said,  the  last  piece  of  machinery  and 
the  first  rain  arrived  simultaneously  at  Santa 
Gertrudis.  The  break  in  the  summer  heat  came 
with  a  south  wind  which  herded  mountainous 
vapors  in  from  the  warm  Pacific.  All  night  the 
rain  fell  in  sheets  that  set  the  thirsty  arroyos 
running  bank-high  and  raised  the  river  ten  feet. 
Then,  after  the  pleasant  tropical  fashion,  the 
downpour  ceased,  and  day  broke  with  a  blaze  of 
sunlight  over  the  Barranca. 

"Sinbad's  valley  of  diamonds!" 

It  was  Billy's  metaphor  when  he  came  out  with 
Seyd  from  breakfast,  and,  trite  as  the  comparison 
might  be,  nothing  else  could  better  describe  the 
millions  of  wet  jewels  that  flashed  in  the  dark 
mantle  of  pine  above  and  embroidered  the  green 
cloak  of  the  jungle  beneath.  Yesterday  had  seen 
the  last  touches  put  on  the  aerial  cable  which* 
would  be  soon  dropping  buckets  of  ore  into  the 
red  jaws  of  the  furnace  two  thousand  feet  below. 
From  the  edge  of  the  plateau  it  ran,  a  streak  of 
silver  fringed  with  glittering  rain  drops,  down  and 
out  to  the  smelter;  and  when,  in  the  pride  of  his 
heart,  Billy  loosed  the  brakes  the  first  vibration 
threw  off  a  cloud  of  prismatic  spray. 

206 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Balanced  to  a  hair!  You  see,  the  weight  of 
one  full  bucket  is  sufficient  to  start  the  chain." 

"Fine!"  Seyd  echoed.  "Runs  like  a  clock. 
Another  week  and  we'll  be  running  steady." 

Standing  there,  watching  the  buckets  sail  up 
and  down  like  great  iron  birds,  they  gave  them 
selves  up  to  the  joy  of  accomplishment;  as  once 
before,  permitted  fancy  to  run  amuck  through  the 
golden  future.  And  after  their  hard  labors  and 
prolonged  anxieties  a  little  self-congratulation 
was  quite  in  order.  If,  one  way  or  another,  they 
succeeded  in  meeting  their  first  note  they  really 
could  be  counted  in  splendid  shape,  for  their 
shipments  of  copper  matte  would  be  on  the  mar 
ket  before  the  second  fell  due. 

Billy  nodded  assent  when  Seyd  spoke.  "  Fran- 
cesca  said  they  would  be  home  to-day.  I  think 
I'll  run  down  there  and  tackle  Don  Luis." 

Between  them  were  no  secrets,  and  when  Seyd 
rode  away  an  hour  later  with  Caliban  at  his  heels 
Billy  called  after  him:  "And  say,  old  man,  have 
it  out  with  the  girl.  If  she  has  half  the  brains  I 
have  always  allowed  her  she'll  easily  see  the 
^accidental  way  in  which  it  all  came  about." 

Though  the  advice  merely  restated  his  own 
intention,  Seyd  found  it  inspiring.  Riding  down 
the  Barranca  staircases,  he  whistled  and  sang. 
While  following  the  trail  through  the  long  suc 
cession  of  ranches,  jungle,  hamlets,  he  lived  over 
again  that  first  ride  with  Francesca.  Very  plainly 
he  now  perceived  that  it  dated  his  love,  that  in 

207 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  pauses  of  his  stealthy  study  she  had  ensnared 
him  with  her  rich  personality. 

"She  got  you  then,"  he  mused,  adding,  with  a 
burst  of  feeling  that  astonished  himself,  "And 
now  I'll  get  her — if  I  have  to  take  her  by  force." 

Planning  and  dreaming,  he  rode  along  until  the 
sight  of  the  river,  flowing  swiftly  and  deep  over 
the  San  Nicolas  ford,  broke  up  his  reverie.  Only 
a  mile  away,  on  the  other  side,  the  hacienda  lay 
in  full  view,  yet  it  appeared  at  first  as  if  they 
would  have  to  turn  back.  But  after  nosing  up 
and  down  the  banks  Caliban  presently  flushed  a 
peon  and  a  dugout.  With  the  horses  swimming 
behind,  they  were  ferried  over,  and  rode  across 
the  tree-studded  pastures,  which  were  still  clad 
in  summer  brown. 

At  the  sight  of  the  amber  walls  in  their  setting 
of  low  brown  hills  Seyd's  pulses  had  quickened, 
and,  interpreting  everything  by  his  own  feeling, 
it  seemed  to  him  that  the  dark  women  who  peeped 
from  their  doorways,  the  swart  vaqueros,  and  the 
slender  girls  that  passed  to  and  fro  with  ollas 
balanced  ahead,  all  turned  faces  of  welcome. 
But  when  at  last  he  reined  in  before  the  shut 
gates  of  the  casa  he  experienced  a  sudden,  cold 
revulsion.  Like  so  many  eyes,  the  iron  studs 
stared  from  the  oaken  face  of  the  door,  until  the 
sudden  sliding  of  a  hatch  revealed  the  wrinkled 
visage  of  Paulo,  the  Spanish  administrador. 

With  his  employer's  toleration  of  the  gringo 
the  administrador  had  no  sympathy.  Malice 

208 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

sparkled  in  his  small  brown  eyes  while  he  an 
swered  Seyd's  question.  "As  you  see,  senor,  the 
casa  is  empty.  The  senora  and  the  niha" — he 
used  the  family  diminutive  for  Francesca — are 
still  at  hacienda  El  Quiss.  Don  Luis?  He 
has  gone  again  to  Ciudad,  Mexico,  to  talk  with 
Porfirio  Diaz  himself  about  the  gringo  dam.  I 
do  not  know  when  he  will  return,"  he  replied, 
further,  "nor  the  senora." 

His  high  spirits  dashed  to  the  ground,  Seyd  sat 
his  horse,  oppressed  with  heavy  forebodings,  for 
the  disappointment  raised  vivid  memories  of  the 
suddenness  with  which  the  girl  had  been  snatched 
out  of  his  life  on  two  other  occasions.  Sick  at 
heart,  he  refused  for  himself  the  refreshment  that 
the  house's  tradition  compelled  Paulo  to  offer,  and 
spent  the  hour  required  for  the  beasts'  feeding  in 
heavy  brooding. 

From  this,  however,  he  roused  himself  pres 
ently  to  a  lighter  mood.  "After  all,  the  week  is 
only  up  to-day,"  he  urged.  "She  might  easily 
be  detained  beyond  her  expectations." 

At  first  he  thought  of  leaving  a  note.  But, 
realizing  the  formal  terms  in  which  it  would  have 
to  be  couched  might  make  an  unfavorable  im 
pression,  he  left,  instead,  verbal  regrets.  That 
settled,  he  had  time  to  think  of  Don  Luis,  and, 
being  now  on  practical  ground,  came  to  a  quick 
conclusion.  Forgetting  all  about  his  promise  not 
to  travel  alone,  he  sent  Caliban  back  to  the  mine 
while  he  went  himself  straight  out  to  the  station. 

209 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

On  his  arrival  there,  however — so  late  that  he 
had  to  call  Peters  out  of  his  bed — he  was  not  a 
little  surprised  to  find  that  nothing  had  been  seen 
of  Don  Luis.  It  was,  of  course,  easily  possible 
that  he  had  boarded  the  train  at  a  flag  station 
ten  miles  up  the  line  that  was  nearer  to  El  Quiss, 
But  when,  next  evening,  a  thorough  search  of 
his  usual  haunts  in  Mexico  City  failed  to  yield 
sight  or  sign  of  Don  Luis,  Seyd  began  to  grow 
suspicious.  Suspicion  developed  into  a  certainty 
when  on  his  return  two  days  later  Peters  informed 
him  that  Don  Luis  had  taken  the  up  train  that 
very  morning. 

"He  came  from  San  Nicolas,  too,"  Peters 
added.  "I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  was  there  all 
the  time.  Looks  to  me  like  he's  trying  to  dodge 
you." 

Intentional  or  not,  it  left  Seyd  in  a  serious 
plight.  A  second  trip  to  Mexico  City  would 
take  three  days.  Adding  two  more  to  get  Billy 
away  in  the  event  of  Don  Luis's  refusal  of  further 
time,  less  than  three  weeks  would  be  left  of  their 
month  of  grace.  It  was  not  to  be  thought  of; 
and,  though  the  afternoon  rains  were  draping  the 
mountains  with  heavy  gray  sheets,  he  rode  out 
to  the  inn  that  night.  Crossing  the  river  early 
next  morning,  he  sent  Billy  away  at  once. 

"You'll  have  to  spend  twelve  hours  in  Mexico 
City  anyway,"  he  instructed  him,  concerning 
Don  Luis,  "so  you  might  as  well  try  to  find  him. 
If  you  succeed,  no  trifling!  Get  his  fist  on  a 

210 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

written  extension.  If  he  doesn't  come  through — 
and  I  have  my  doubts — chase  right  on  home  to 
California.  With  the  photos  of  the  prospect  and 
plant  you  ought  not  to  have  much  trouble  in 
raising  enough  to  cover  the  note.  And  the 
minute  you  get  it  wire  me  credits  on  Mexico 
City." 

Hardly  expecting  it,  he  was  not  surprised  when 
Billy  wired,  two  days  later,  that  he  was  leaving 
that  evening  for  the  States.  Under  the  mes 
sage  Peters  had  scribbled,  "Don  Luis  came  in 
to-day  on  Number  Nine.  Go  right  down  and 
see  him." 

Half  an  hour  after  receipt  of  the  message  Seyd 
and  Caliban  were  again  on  their  way. 

For  nearly  a  week  now  it  had  rained  heavily 
night  and  day,  and  here  and  there  on  the  bottoms 
small  inundations  gave  early  warning  of  coming 
floods.  Though  the  river  still  ran  in  its  banks 
opposite  San  Nicolas,  the  dugout  in  which  they 
crossed  was  swept  with  the  swimming  horses  half 
a  mile  downstream  before  they  made  a  landing, 
and  it  was  easily  to  be  seen  that  another  week's 
rain  would  cut  off  travel  on  that  side  of  the 
stream. 

Riding  in  to  the  great  square,  Seyd's  pulses  beat 
a  lively  accompaniment  to  the  thought:  "It  is 
now  the  end  of  the  second  week.  She  is  sure  to 
be  home."  Yet  in  the  moment  of  its  riotous 
birth  the  hope  gave  place  to  black  misgivings  at 
the  sight  of  the  shut  house. 

211 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

His  spirits  touched  zero  when  the  sliding 
hatch  left  Paulo's  wrinkled  visage  framed  again 
in  the  blank  oaken  face  of  the  door.  "Don 
Luis  is  still  in  Mexico,  senor."  He  anticipated 
Seyd's  question. 

"But  he  returned — was  seen  the  day  before 
yesterday  at  the  station." 

"At  the  station,  senor?  How  could  that  be?" 
His  brown  beads  of  eyes  blinked  in  uneasy  sur 
prise;  then  in  an  instant  the  wrinkled  mask  fell 
into  an  expression  of  simple  cunning.  "Or,  if 
so,  then  it  must  be  that  he  has  gone  to  join  the 
senora  and  the  niiia,  who  are  still  at  El  Quiss." 

She  was  not  there !  For  the  third  time  he  found 
himself  confronted  by  silence,  mysterious  and 
complete  as  that  which  had  attended  her  previous 
disappearances.  But,  though  oppressed  by  a 
weight  of  care,  he  tried  to  hide  his  bitter  disap 
pointment  from  the  administrador's  inquisition. 
Once  again  he  spent  a  black  hour  while  the 
beasts  were  feeding.  His  broodings,  riding  home 
ward,  shed  no  light  on  the  enigma.  A  night  of 
dark  thought  left  him  baffled,  furious,  in  good 
fettle  for  the  news  that  Caliban  gleaned  from  a 
passing  charcoal-burner. 

"Don  Luis  must  have  been  there,  senor,  for 
Benito  saw  him  ride  forth  this  morning.  He  has 
gone  north  to  see  for  himself  the  gringo  dam." 

"Oh,  he  has,  has  he!"  Seyd  ground  the  words 
out  between  his  teeth.  "The  old  fox!  But  now 

I'll  chase  him  into  his  earth." 

212 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

In  this,  however,  he  had  forgotten  to  allow  for 
the  rains  which,  driving  down  the  Barranca  in 
great  wet  sheets,  caused  Don  Luis  to  put  in  at 
El  Quiss,  there  to  wait  in  the  leisurely  fashion  of 
the  country  until  the  weather  should  break  and 
Sebastien  have  time  to  accompany  him.  Arriv 
ing  at  the  power  plant  after  two  days'  wallowing 
on  jungle  trails,  Seyd  found  himself  foiled  once 
more  in  their  little  game  of  hide  and  seek. 

The  trip,  however,  was  not  altogether  wasted, 
for  the  pert  young  Chicagoan  in  charge  gave  him 
uproarious  welcome.  "  So  you're  the  fellow  that 
has  been  bucking  the  whole  state  of  Guerrero! 
I'm  awfully  glad  to  know  you,  Mr.  Seyd,  though 
I'm  puzzled  yet  as  to  how  you  managed  to  hold 
out.  It  took  a  whole  regiment  of  Diaz's  rurales 
to  establish  us  here,  and  if  they  were  withdrawn 
even  now  we  wouldn't  last  long." 

Also  it  was  worth  the  labor  to  see  the  dam.  A 
huge  earthen  structure,  nearly  a  hundred  feet 
high,  it  spanned  the  Barranca  just  where  the 
valley  nipped  in  from  a  wide  angle  to  a  passage 
a  quarter  mile  wide.  Behind  it  a  muddy  lake 
stretched  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and 
while  standing  in  the  center  Seyd  recalled  and 
quoted  Peters's  prediction. 

"'  Boulders  big  as  churches  were  piled  up  in 
the  bed  of  the  stream  like  pebbles,  and  if  that 
dam  was  built  of  solid  concrete  instead  of  clay 
they'd  go  through  it  like  it  was  dough." 

The  Chicagoan,  however,  laughed  at  the  quo- 

213 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

tation.  "If  the  devil  himself  was  bowling  them 
I'd  defy  him  to  knock  off  a  single  chip.  She's 
solid,  and  the  sluiceways  allow  ample  flood  escape. 
Nothing  but  an  earthquake  could  touch  it — a 
jim  dandy,  at  that." 

Nevertheless,  while  that  enormous  volume  of 
water  hung  suspended,  as  it  were,  over  the 
valley,  Seyd  felt  nervous.  Traveling  homeward 
the  next  day,  he  measured  with  a  careful  eye  the 
valley  floor,  and,  using  last  year's  high-water 
mark  as  a  base  for  his  calculations,  concluded 
that  only  San  Nicolas,  the  smelter,  and  one  or 
two  haciendas  that  stood  on  higher  ground  would 
escape  destruction  if  the  dam  should  happen  to 
burst.  Approaching  El  Quiss,  he  noted,  in  par 
ticular,  that,  standing  on  level  ground,  it  would 
surely  be  inundated. 

For  some  fifteen  miles  his  trail  ran  through 
Sebastien's  lands,  and,  climbing  in  one  place  over 
a  knoll,  it  afforded  a  view  of  the  hacienda  build 
ings  across  the  rain-swept  pastures.  As,  reining 
in,  Seyd  watched  the  faint  pink  of  the  walls  flash 
out  and  fade  in  the  shifting  vapors  he  was  seized 
with  a  mad  impulse  to  ride  in.  But  his  native 
good  sense  quickly  reasserted  itself,  for  a  mo 
ment's  reflection  showed  that  the  intrusion  could 
only  result  in  humiliation  for  Francesca  and  him 
self.  The  knowledge,  however,  did  not  render 
her  proximity  less  maddening.  He  was  sitting 
there  restlessly  chafing  when  Caliban's  voice 
suddenly  rose  behind. 

214 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"If  it  were  desired  to  leave  a  message  there  is 
one  I  know  that  could  place  it  in  her  own  hands." 

Startled,  Seyd  swung  in  the  saddle.  He  had 
known  long  ago  that  kindly  usage  had  trans 
formed  the  hunchback  into  a  faithful  friend,  but 
he  was  not  prepared  either  for  the  sympathy  that 
softened  his  glittering  beads  of  eyes  or  his  un 
canny  divination. 

"Si."  The  hunchback  nodded.  "A  cousin 
of  my  woman  is  in  Don  Sebastien's  household 
service.  'Twould  be  easy  to  pass  a  paper  by 
the  little  maid  you  picked  out  of  the  river. 
The  sefiorita  keeps  her  always  close  to  her  own 
body." 

Before  he  finished  Seyd  had  cut  a  pencil  and 
was  writing  on  the  back  of  an  envelope  under 
cover  of  his  raincoat.  At  first  he  gave  free  vent 
to  his  feelings,  but,  remembering  the  danger  of 
interception,  he  tore  it  up  and  wrote  instead  a 
humorous  protest  against  her  continued  absence. 
Then,  after  instructing  Caliban  to  take  all  the 
time  necessary  to  procure  an  answer,  he  journeyed 
on  alone. 

It  was  well,  too,  that  he  gave  the  hunchback 
free  rein,  for  three  days  elapsed  before  he  re 
turned  to  the  mine  soaked  to  the  marrow  by  the 
continuous  rains  that  had  raised  the  floods  almost 
to  last  year's  mark.  "With  Don  Sebastien  one 
goes  slowly,"  he  explained.  "If  the  sharp  eye 
of  him  had  once  touched  me  'twould  have  been 
a  short  shrift  under  the  nearest  tree.  For  two 

215 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

days  I  lay  close  in  the  jacal  of  my  woman's  cousin 
before  she  brought  me  this." 

It  was  a  considerable  package,  and  Seyd  rather 
wondered  at  its  size  while  tearing  away  the  dried 
corn  leaves  in  which  Caliban  had  wrapped  it. 
When  the  last  leaf  fell  off  he  stared  at  first  in 
surprise,  then,  as  his  eye  fell  on  the  ink  scores,  in 
utter  consternation  at  the  Albuquerque  Times. 
Minutes  passed  before  he  could  command  words 
to  send  the  hunchback  away,  then,  sitting  down 
by  the  table,  he  leaned  his  head  on  his  hand 
and  remained  for  some  time  plunged  in  black 
reflection. 

From  a  long  distance  in  time  and  space 
his  first  insincerity  had  come  home  to  roost. 
But,  while  he  saw  himself  as  the  designer  of  his 
own  undoing,  he  was  by  no  means  resigned. 
Presently  hard,  mutinous  lights  broke  in  his 
gloomy  eyes.  The  stubborn  fighter  awoke. 
Throwing  the  traitorous  sheet  across  the  room, 
he  picked  up  a  pen  and  began  to  write. 

Wasting  no  time  in  wonder  at  the  fortuitous 
chance  that  had  placed  the  paper  in  Francesca's 
hands,  he  wrote  steadily  on  the  story  of  his  love 
from  the  first  doubtful  beginnings  to  its  actual 
consummation.  Very  clearly  he  explained  his 
first  natural  dislike  to  intrude  his  personal  affairs 
upon  people  for  whom  he  had  no  reason  to  suppose 
they  would  have  the  slightest  interest,  the  later 
honorable  intention  that  had  always  been  frus 
trated  by  unfavorable  circumstances.  And  he 

216 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

finished  with  a  statement  that  is  never  unwel 
come  in  a  woman's  ear: 

"No  matter  what  comes  I  shall  always  love 
you." 

Steady  rain  all  that  day  and  night  had  given 
the  floods  another  lift  and  sent  the  river  roaming 
wide  through  the  jungle.  Once  again  the  valley 
opposite  the  mine  was  converted  into  a  great  lake 
dotted  with  wooded  islands  between  which  swift 
currents  hurtled  floating  debris.  Profiting  by 
last  year's  lesson,  Seyd  had  had  two  roomy  dug 
outs  fitted  with  oars  and  rowlocks,  and  early  the 
next  morning  he  rowed  Caliban  across  himself. 
Returning,  he  was  to  send  a  smoke  signal  to  call 
the  boat,  and  when,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth 
day,  Seyd  spied  the  thin  blue  spiral  through  a 
break  in  the  drifting  ram  he  almost  cracked  his 
back  rowing  across  the  flood. 

But  his  glowing  hope  died  at  the  shake  of  the 
hunchback's  head.  "The  senorita  is  gone  with 
her  mother  and  Don  Luis  to  San  Nicolas,  senor. 
But  she  is  to  return  to  El  Quiss  in  a  few  days. 
The  cousin  of  my  woman  had  it  from  Roberta, 
the  little  maid.  She  is  still  there,  and  will  de 
liver  the  letter  when  the  senorita  returns." 

The  news  was  not  altogether  bad,  for  Fran- 
cesca,  at  least,  was  now  at  San  Nicolas.  Within 
the  hour  Seyd  crossed  the  river  to  the  inn — 
where  a  horse  was  to  be  had  for  hire — and  his 
purpose  gained  strength  from  a  wire  that  he 
found  waiting  there  from  Billy. 

217 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"San  Francisco  burned  to  the  ground.  Not 
a  cent  to  be  raised  in  California.  Am  going 
east." 

In  view  of  the  aforesaid  game  of  hide  and  seek 
he  had  been  playing  with  Don  Luis  the  situation 
looked  very  dark.  But,  serious  as  it  was,  when, 
halfway  to  San  Nicolas,  he  met  Paulo  riding  at 
the  head  of  a  mule  train  loaded  with  fagots  it 
was  wiped  altogether  out  of  his  mind. 

"We  go  to  build  beacons  along  the  rim  of  the 
Barranca  to  give  warning  against  the  bursting 
of  the  gringo  dam,"  he  answered  Seyd.  "Si, 
Don  Luis  and  the  sefiora  are  at  the  casa.  The 
sefiorita?"  His  creases  drew  into  a  malevolent 
grin.  "The  sefiora,  you  mean.  She  was  mar 
ried  two  hours  ago  to  Don  Sebastien." 


CHAPTER  XX 

"\\  THAT!"     In  the  language  of  the  good 
V  V    old  romances,  Seyd  roared  the  word. 
In  the  main,  Paulo  was  not  a  bad  old  chap. 
To  further  the  interests  of  a  Garcia  he  would 
cheerfully  have  surrendered  his  old  bones  to  be 
boiled  in  oil,  and  in  his  joy  at  the  event  he  al 
lowed    his    natural    garrulity    to    dominate    his 
prejudice  against  the  gringo. 

"Si,  senor,  they  were  married  at  the  hacienda 
by  the  priest  of  Chilpancin.  On  account  of  the 
death  of  Don  Sebastien's  mother  Don  Luis  and 
the  senora  only  were  present,  and  immediately 
afterward  the  young  couple  went  home  alone  to  El 
Quiss .  A  sensible  practice,  say  I !  When  young  hot 
blood  mixes  it  should  be  left  to  cool  and  settle. 
Over  there  at  El  Quiss  the  fur  will  be  flying  before 
the  end  of  a  week,  and  put  me  down  as  a  liar  if 
Francesca  do  not  keep  him  busy.  She  has  run 
too  long  single  not  to  kick  at  double  harness. 
But  she'll  settle  to  it,  and  like  the  fine  wench  she 
is,  there  is  to  be  no  European  travel  or  such 
kickshaws  as  now  are  common  with  our  rich 
young  folk.  No,  in  the  good  old  Mexican 
fashion  she  goes  from  the  church  straight  to  her 

15  219 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

man's  home,  there  to  stay  till  the  first  babe  makes 
us  all  completely  happy." 

Over  and  above  his  real  joy  in  the  event  the 
old  fellow  was  undoubtedly  aware  of  its  effect 
on  Seyd.  While  speaking,  his  small  red  eyes 
searched  his  victim's  face  for  the  pain  beneath 
its  confusion.  But  even  under  the  spur  of  race 
hatred  his  imagination  could  not  divine  a  tithe 
of  the  torture  he  was  inflicting.  Like  all  lovers, 
Seyd  had  dreamed  long  moving  pictures  of  him 
self  and  Francesca  as  husband  and  wife,  and  now, 
with  the  speed  of  light,  the  reels  spun  backward, 
exhibiting  her  with  another  in  the  thousand  and 
one  intimacies  of  married  life.  Through  all,  his 
stiff  Anglo-Saxon  reserve  persisted,  and,  finding 
egress  at  his  heels,  the  pain  that  he  tried  to  hide 
brought  the  situation  to  a  ludicrous  close. 
Springing  from  the  unconscious  pressure  of  his 
spurs,  his  horse,  a  mettled  little  beast,  col 
lided  with  Paulo  and  knocked  him  flat  on  his 
back. 

More  hurt  in  his  pride  than  body,  the  old  fel 
low  scrambled  up  and  stood  shaking  his  fist  and 
cursing.  But  Seyd  rode  on  without  attempt  to 
check  the  animal,  whose  top  speed  ran  slower  than 
his  own  hot  thought.  Indeed,  when,  from  sheer 
fatigue,  it  slowed  he  laid  on  with  quirt  and 
spur,  and  kept  on  at  a  gallop  till  violent  exer 
cise  had  withdrawn  the  blood  from  his  swelling 
brain. 

In  place  of  pulsing  waves  of  confused  pain 

220 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

came  the  tortures  of  clear  thought.  In  turn  he 
was  ruled  by  anger,  despair,  unbelief.  The 
thought  of  Francesca  as  he  had  seen  her  on  the 
train,  quiet,  lovely,  sympathetic,  inspired  the 
last.  It  was  not  possible!  Then  up  would  rise 
the  blank  ink  scores  round  the  divorce  notice 
to  provide  the  motive  and  plunge  him  back  into 
deep  despair.  Lastly  came  anger,  blind  and  un 
reasoning,  in  furious  gusts. 

Occasionally  through  his  welter  of  feeling  there 
flashed  a  glimmer  of  reason.  "She's  married 
now!  She's  married!  That  ends  it — for  you!" 
But  instead  of  despair  the  thought  produced 
furious  reactions.  "I  don't  care!  She's  mine! 
I'll  have  her — if  I  have  to  take  her  by  force!" 
It  rose  again  and  again,  his  cry  on  the  trail  of 
the  other  day. 

By  instinct  rather  than  conscious  thought  he 
had  turned  his  horse  into  a  path  which  presently 
curved  at  a  sharp  angle  into  one  that  led  from 
San  Nicolas  up  to  the  rim  of  the  Barranca 
where  at  this  season  ran  the  only  passable 
trail.  At  the  forks  he  came  on  the  fresh  tracks 
of  shod  horses  that  led  up  the  zigzag  stair 
cases. 

Overlapping  each  other  on  the  narrow  trail, 
they  might  have  been  made  by  two  or  a  half 
dozen,  and  not  until  he  saw  two  sets  clearly 
imprinted  side  by  side  crossing  a  small  plateau 
did  he  think  of  the  riders.  If  proof  were  required 
it  was  presently  furnished  by  the  little  handker- 

221 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

chief  that  hung,  fluttering  in  the  rain  and  wind, 
on  a  "crucifixion  thorn." 

As,  reining  in,  he  examined  the  corner  initial 
a  whiff  of  violets  rose  in  his  nostrils.  Under  the 
sudden  crush  of  his  hand  it  shed  a  rain  of  tears. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

FIFTEEN  miles  away  along  the  rim  Fran- 
cesca  and  Sebastien  had  just  reined  in. 
On  a  bare  knoll  close  to  the  trail  which  led  down 
to  El  Quiss  three  peons  were  building  a  beacon  of 
dry  wood  around  a  core  of  hay,  and  while  Sebas 
tien  talked  with  them  the  girl  looked  out  over 
the  valley. 

Ever  since,  in  a  burst  of  anger  at  Seyd's  mes 
sage,  she  confirmed  her  conditional  promise  she 
had  lived  in  a  fever  of  feeling  which  precluded 
clear  thought.  In  the  same  way  that  a  sufferer 
from  toothache  anticipates  with  almost  revenge 
ful  pleasure  the  wrench  of  the  extraction  she  had 
looked  forward  to  marriage  as  though  it  were  to 
bring  the  end  of  her  pain.  Not  until  the  words 
that  made  her  a  wife  fell  like  a  chill  on  her  fever 
did  she  perceive  the  illusion.  Riding  along  the 
trail,  the  consequences  had  presented  themselves, 
and  they  grew  with  every  mile  until  they  filled 
her  mind  with  horror.  She  had  shrunk  in  fear 
and  revulsion  when  Sebastien  offered  the  ordinary 
courtesies  of  the  road.  When  he  buttoned  his 
own  big  rain  capote  around  her  she  trembled 
under  his  hands.  Again,  when  her  beast  slipped 

223 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

and  he  threw  his  arm  round  her  to  lift  her  out  of 
the  saddle,  she  uttered  a  nervous  cry,  and,  though 
he  released  her  at  once,  she  shuddered  under 
her  cloak.  Yet,  with  all  her  pain,  when  she  gazed 
out  over  the  storm  -  beaten  valley  her  old  pas 
sion  for  nature  asserted  itself  through  her  agony. 

Along  the  Barranca  the  south  wind  herded 
great  fleecy  clouds.  There  they  piled  themselves 
up  in  shadowy  hills,  there  they  rolled  and  tum 
bled  like  thistledown  in  a  breeze,  and  again 
cascaded  down  to  lower  levels  to  dissolve  with 
muttering  thunder  in  slaty  sheets  of  rain.  One 
minute  the  vapors  filled  the  Barranca,  flowing, 
a  ghostly  river,  between  the  towering  walls. 
The  next  a  sudden  rent  in  the  veil  permitted  a 
fleeting  glimpse  of  the  trail  falling  like  a  yellow 
snake  with  myriad  writhings  into  the  treetops 
thousands  of  feet  below.  Enormous  in  scale,  the 
scene  was  rendered  more  impressive  by  the  roll 
of  low  thunders  and  flash  of  pale  lightnings 
amidst  leaden  writhing  shapes.  Watching  it, 
Francesca  was  forgetful  until,  through  a  sudden 
rift,  she  caught  the  distant  pink  flash  of  the  El 
Quiss  walls.  Then  she  shivered,  and  she  was 
still  trembling  when,  turning  from  the  peons, 
Sebastien  spoke. 

"It  is  one  of  a  chain  of  beacons  they  are  build 
ing  up  and  down  the  valley  to  warn  the  people 
if  the  gringo  dam  should  burst."  Noticing  her 
shiver,  he  added:  "You  are  cold,  querida?  Let 
us  ride  on." 

224 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

His  usual  stern  gravity  had  given  place  in  the 
last  few  hours  to  a  look  soft,  pleasant,  and  very 
human.  If  she  had  looked  into  his  eyes  she 
might  have  read  there  both  sympathy  and  under 
standing.  But  softness  in  him  just  then  merely 
added  to  her  fear.  Following  downhill,  too,  she 
watched  him  closely  with  dark,  frightened  eyes. 
In  the  past  his  strong  face  and  lithe  figure  had 
aroused  in  her  a  certain  admiration,  but  now 
they  inspired  revulsion.  A  lost  spirit  descend 
ing  into  Hades  could  not  have  battled  more 
fiercely  than  did  she  descending  the  interminable 
staircases,  and  the  struggle  left  her  so  pale  and 
exhausted  that  Sebastien  remarked  upon  it  when 
they  rode  out  at  last  on  the  valley  floor. 

"You  are  tired?     We  shall  soon  be  there." 

That  started  her  again  upon  a  conflict  which 
continued  all  the  way  across  the  pastures  to  the 
hacienda  gates  and  reached  its  climax  when  she 
entered  her  room — not  the  one  she  had  occupied 
before,  but  that  which  had  chambered  before  her 
the  line  of  wives  and  mothers  which  began  with 
the  Aztec  bride  of  Flores  Rocha,  the  conquistador, 
In  that  long  line  the  room  may  have  harbored  a 
bride  fully  as  unhappy,  but  none  more  mutinous 
than  its  present  occupant. 

"The  sefiora  is  fatigued.  She  will  have  the 
meal  served  in  her  room."  Sebastien's  quiet 
order  had  dispersed  the  brown  maids  who  flocked 
about  her  like  cooing  pigeons  with  greetings  and 
offers  of  service.  Unaware  that  he  would  ob- 

225 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

serve  it  himself,  she  sprang  out  of  her  chair  and 
ran  a  few  steps  toward  the  barred  window  when 
a  tap  sounded  upon  her  door.  In  her  relief  when 
it  proved  to  be  only  Roberta,  she  pulled  the  child 
in  to  her  bosom. 

"It  is  thee,  nina!  Oh!  I  had  thought — what 
is  this?" 

Her  sudden  flush  betrayed  her  recognition  of 
Seyd's  writing  on  the  package  the  girl  held  out. 
In  the  few  seconds  she  stood  hesitating  her  chang 
ing  expression  revealed  the  struggle  between  her 
misery  and  her  sense  of  wifely  honor.  The  issue 
was  not  long  in  doubt,  for,  suddenly  murmuring 
"  'Twill  do  no  harm  to  read  it,"  she  ripped  off  the 
cover. 

While  she  read  the  blush  faded.  At  the  end 
her  low  distressed  cry,  "Francesca,  see  what  thy 
hasty  pride  has  done!  A  little  patience  would 
have  saved  thy  happiness  and  his!"  told  of  the 
deep  impression.  Sinking  into  a  chair,  she  was 
beginning  to  read  it  again  when  the  door  trembled 
under  a  heavier  rap. 

Thrusting  the  letter  into  her  bosom,  she  leaped 
up,  under  the  urge  of  the  same  wild  instinct  to 
escape,  retreated  toward  the  window,  and  so 
stood,  with  Roberta  tightly  held  against  her 
skirts.  Seconds  passed  before  she  managed  a 
tremulous  "Enter!"  and  the  face  she  turned  to 
Sebastien  presented  such  a  passion  of  fear,  re 
vulsion,  and  despair  that  he  stopped  and  stood 
gazing  at  her  from  the  door.  If  surprised,  his 

226 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

look,  however,  was  still  kind.  He  even  smiled. 
Not  until,  retreating  as  he  came  forward,  she 
stopped  only  with  her  back  against  the  wall, 
Roberta  still  between  them,  did  his  smile  give 
way  to  sudden  dark  offense. 

"Are  you  ill?"  He  spoke  sharply.  "Or  is 
this  the  usual  way  of  a  bride?  If  I  were  a  tiger 
and  you  alone  in  the  jungle  'twould  be  impossible 
to  show  more  fear." 

"I  wish  you  were!"  The  confession  burst  out 
of  her  miserable  fear.  "  'Twere  preferable  a 
thousand  times!  Oh,  why  did  I  do  it — commit 
this  great  wrong?  Love  is,  can  be,  the  only 
cause  for  marriage,  but  in  my  hasty  pride  I  sought 
only  revenge — on  him.  Oh,  'twas  a  sin — a  sin 
against  you,  Sebastien,  who  have  always  been  so 
kind.  Somewhere  there  must  have  been  a  woman 
who  would  have  borne  you  children  out  of  her 
love.  And  now — I  have  not  only  sealed  my  own 
misery,  but  also  yours.  For,  though  I  do  not, 
never  can  love  you,  I  am — your  wife." 

To  repeat,  it  came  out  of  her  in  a  wild  burst, 
without  consideration.  But  with  the  last  word 
she  looked  her  apprehension.  He,  however,  took 
it  quietly.  Already  the  flash  of  offense  had 
faded.  Only  the  measured  tone  betrayed  re 
straint. 

"It  is  so — we  are  husband  and  wife.  But  do 
not  let  that  fact  disturb  you.  Did  you  think  me 
so  much  of  a  beast  as  to  believe  that  I  would  take 
you  stone-cold!  Neither  need  you  grieve  over 

227 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

your  sin  in  marrying  without  love,  for  I  took  you 
on  those  terms.  I  knew  very  well  that  you  were 
falling  to  me  through  anger.  My  only  fear  was 
that  it  might  cool  before  you  were  placed  forever 
beyond  the  gringo's  reach.  But  now  that  is 
accomplished,  have  no  fear,  we  stand  as  we  were. 
You  are  still  Francesca,  to  be  wooed  with  a  larger 
license,  but  still  to  be  wooed  and  won  to  my 
love." 

"Oh,  you  are — as  always — kind!"  A  little  of 
the  terror  had  died  out  of  her  face,  and  if  she  had 
never  received  Seyd's  letter,  had  lacked  the  re 
assurance  that  lay  warm  in  her  breast,  his 
generosity  might  have  prevailed.  Pitifully,  she 
was  going  on,  "I  am  sorry — "  but  he  interrupted. 

"Let  us  have  none  of  that.  Pity  is  the  last 
thing  I  ask  of  you.  The  issue  between  us  lies 
clearly — can  be  settled  only  one  way."  His  dark 
eyes  lighting,  he  went  on  after  a  pause:  "It  needs 
not  for  me  to  remind  you  of  the  birth  of  my  love, 
for  it  reaches  back  beyond  your  memory.  When 
you  were  still  a  lovely  child  I  gleaned  a  fallen 
eyelash  from  your  dress  and  carried  it  for  years — 
ay,  until  it  was  displaced  by  a  stolen  curl  clipped 
while  you  slept  by  the  maid  I  bribed.  With  you 
my  love  grew — grew  with  you  from  that  lovely 
girl  into  a  beautiful  woman.  The  place  which 
your  foot  had  trod  was,  for  me,  the  only  holy 
ground.  You  were  my  church,  the  only  one  I 
ever  believed  in,  the  only  one  that  gained  my 
prayers.  For  me  you  and  you  alone  held  the 

228 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

keys  of  heaven,  and  be  sure  that  now  that  they 
have  passed  through  your  own  act  into  my  hands 
I  shall  never  rest  till  they  have  opened  for  me  the 
doors." 

"You  will  always  have  my  liking  and  respect — " 

He  cut  her  off  again.  "Idle  words — they  are 
not  enough.  And  you  owe  me  one  thing — your 
willingness  to  help.  I  shall  try  hard,  harder  than 
I  have  ever  done,  to  win  you,  but  without  that 
my  efforts  will  be  in  vain.  And  remember — for 
your  own  sake — if  you  do  not  help  me  it  may  be 
that  you  yourself  will  reap  the  pain.  The  im 
mortality  of  love  is  the  wild  talk  of  poets.  One 
cannot  love  a  statue.  The  eye  tires  at  last  of  the 
most  beautiful  marble,  goes  roving  after  warm 
flesh.  So  take  care  that  you  do  not  awake  too 
late  to  find  yourself  unloved,  pining  for  the  affec 
tion  you  once  rejected." 

Through  all  he  had  maintained  his  dark  calm, 
speaking  quietly  with  a  touch  of  sadness.  Yet, 
the  stronger  for  its  suppression,  vibrant  feeling 
pulsed  in  the  appeal.  Had  Francesca  still  been 
smarting  under  the  lash  of  hurt  pride  he  might 
have  caught  her  on  a  second  reaction.  For  she 
was  moved.  Pity  and  distress  governed  her 
answer. 

"Oh,  I  feel  wretchedly  ungrateful.  But  what 
can  I  do?  I  cannot — oh,  give  me  time?" 

"All  that  you  need,  querida.  You  are  to  have 
your  own  time  and  terms.  Now  listen!  I  am 
going  away." 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

He  smiled  a  little  grimly  at  her  start  of  relief. 
" So  very  glad?  Then  I  am  sorry  it  will  not  be  for 
longer.  I  shall  be  back  in  a  few  days.  Word 
came  to  the  administrador  yesterday  that  the 
gringo  dam  is  greatly  endangered  by  warm  rains 
that  have  added  the  volcano's  snows  to  the 
flood.  A  hundred  feet  deep,  the  waters  are  pour 
ing  down  the  Barranca  de  Tigres,  and  if  they 
once  top  it  the  dam  will  go."  He  uttered  a 
bitter  oath.  "A  curse  on  it!  If  it  were  not 
that  the  wave  would  sweep  the  valley  clean  I 
would  send  one  to  hasten  the  end  with  a  charge 
of  powder.  But  that  must  wait  for  the  dry 
season.  I  go  now  with  every  man  and  mule  I 
can  muster  to  raise  and  strengthen  it.  Signal 
beacons  such  as  we  saw  at  the  trail  head  have 
been  built  all  along  the  rim,  and,  if  the  dam 
goes,  smoke  by  day  or  fire  by  night  will  flash 
timely  warning.  But  if  you  are  timid — San 
Nicolas  stands  on  higher  ground.  If  you  would 
prefer  to  return — " 

"No!  no!"  Her  fervent  gratitude  prompted 
her  to  attempt  some  return.  "I  shall  stay  here 
— to  care  for  our  people." 

He  smiled  at  the  "our."  "Spoken  like  a 
Rocha.  You  never  lacked  courage,  Francesca, 
but  be  careful.  At  the  first  signal  leave  every 
thing,  fly  with  the  people  up  to  the  hills.  If  it 
should  happen  that  the  place  is  spared  you  can 
come  back  again.  If  not,  follow  the  upper  trail 
down  to  San  Nicolas." 

230 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Her  fright  had  now  altogether  faded.  While 
he  was  giving  a  few  last  instructions  a  touch  of 
anxiety  diluted  her  brimming  thankfulness.  But 
when  he  went  out  without  having  attempted 
anything  more  intimate  than  his  usual  bow,  this 
vanished.  And  his  restraint  gained  him  more 
ground.  Walking  to  the  window  which  over 
looked  the  patio,  which  was  now  thronged  with 
a  motley  mixture  of  peons,  mule  -  drivers,  and 
serving  women,  she  watched  him  mount  and  ride 
away  at  the  head  of  the  mule  train.  Looking 
backward  from  the  great  gates,  he  saw  and  an 
swered  the  wave  of  her  hand.  But  it  was  too  far 
for  him  to  catch  either  her  wistful  expression  or 
pitiful  murmur  "If  it  had  not  been — " 

Inside  her  bodice  Seyd's  letter  crackled  under 
her  hand.  The  blush  with  which  she  withdrew 
it  indicated  a  doubt  that  his  letter  had  a  right 
to  further  tenancy  in  that  warm  nest.  Roberta 
had  followed  Sebastien  out  to  watch  his  de 
parture.  After  placing  the  letter  on  the  table  she 
sat,  one  oval  cheek  propped  on  her  hand,  her  dark 
head  drooping  over  it  like  a  tired  flower.  Once 
she  made  to  pick  it  up,  then  snatched  back  her 
hand  as  though  from  a  flame. 

"No!  no!  It  would  be  wrong — after  his  kind 
ness."  After  a  few  minutes'  further  musing  she 
added:  "  'Tis  now  of  the  past.  By  your  hand 
was  it  put  there,  Francesca.  Now  remains  only 
to  make  a  finish." 

Taking  a  match  from  a  tray  at  her  elbow,  she 

231 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

lit  the  letter  and  threw  it,  all  flaming,  to  the 
center  of  the  tiled  floor.  While  its  pages  with 
ered  her  face  quivered  in  sympathy,  and  when 
suddenly  a  single  line  stood  blackly  out  in  the 
expiring  glow — "I  love  you — shall  always  love 
you!" — her  breath  came  in  a  sudden  sob. 

Rising,  she  gathered  the  ashes  into  a  small 
tray,  carried  them  across  the  room  to  the  little 
altar  that  stood  against  the  wall — an  action 
significant  as  it  was  conscious.  Kneeling,  she 
bowed  her  head  in  her  hands.  She  remained 
there  a  full  hour,  and  when  she  rose  no  one  of 
the  ten  generations  of  women  whose  soft  knees 
had  worn  a  depression  in  the  tiles  was  ever 
animated  by  a  more  honest  sense  of  duty.  The 
face  she  turned  to  little  Roberta,  who  came  burst 
ing  in  a  few  minutes  later,  was  quiet  and  serene. 

"Oh,  senorita!"  In  her  excitement  the  child 
gave  her  the  maiden  title.  "Pancho,  the  ad- 
ministrador,  will  have  you  come  at  once.  Smoke 
is  rising  northward  along  the  rim.  Also  there 
comes  a  horseman  at  full  speed."  Lowering  her 
voice,  she  added:  "Pancho  showed  him  to  me 
through  Don  Sebastien's  far-seeing  glasses.  It 
is  the  senor  Seyd." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

R[DING  at  a  hard  gallop,  Seyd  had  cut  down 
Sebastian's  lead  by  a  full  hour  in  the  run 
along  the  rim.  At  the  sight  of  the  beacon — 
which  the  peons  were  now  thatching  with  grass — 
he,  also,  reined  in.  But,  having  learned  from 
them  that  Sebastien  and  Francesca  had  passed 
two  hours  ago,  he  rode  on  down  the  staircases 
at  a  pace  which  showed  little  respect  for  his 
neck. 

Nearly  an  hour  later  he  stopped  again  on  the 
very  knoll  from  which  he  had  overlooked  El 
Quiss.  If  he  had  looked  northward  it  would 
have  been  possible  to  see  Sebastien  at  the  head 
of  the  mule  train  which  was  wriggling  like  a 
mottled  brown  snake  across  the  wet  green  pas 
tures.  But  during  the  quarter  hour  that  Seyd  re 
mained  there  his  gaze  never  left  the  distant  pink 
of  the  hacienda  walls. 

Somehow  their  solid  realism  cooled  his  fever 
and  brought  order  to  his  rioting  senses.  "Well, 
you  are  here!  Now  what  are  you  going  to 
do?  What  can  you  do?"  The  still  small  voice 
of  Reason  rose  above  the  storm.  "These,  you 
know,  are  not  the  days  of  chivalry.  It  is  no 

233 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

longer  the  fashion  for  a  jilted  lover  to  snatch  his 
bride  from  the  horns  of  the  altar.  And  if  it 
were" — Reason  here  observed  a  deadly  pause — 
"what  chance  would  you  have  against  Sebastien 
and  his  retainers?" 

"But  I  must  see  her!  I  will  see  her!"  The 
still  small  voice  was  drowned  in  a  gush  of  passion. 
"There  have  been  too  many  accidents  already. 
Not  till  I  hear  from  her  own  lips  that  she  has  done 
this  of  her  free  will  shall  I  quit." 

"Sounds  good."  Reason  agreed  only  to  differ. 
"But  it  has  one  drawback — she  might  not  care 
to  be  interviewed  in  her  bridal  chamber." 

The  suggestion  was  ill-timed,  for  it  started  a 
new  riot  among  his  senses.  "I'll  see  her!  I 
will  have  speech  with  her!"  It  went  roaring 
through  his  brain. 

But  how  to  compass  it?  Had  he  known  the 
name  of  Caliban's  woman's  cousin  it  would  have 
been  difficult  enough!  Not  knowing  it,  the 
thing  was  almost  impossible.  He  was  tossing 
on  successive  waves  of  feeling  that  now  urged 
him  forward,  again  carried  him  back  in  the  under 
tow  of  despair,  when  there  came  a  patter  of  nude 
feet  behind  him. 

"Sefior!  senor!  Mira!  The  beacons!  The 
beacons!" 

It  was  one  of  the  peons  whom  he  had  left 
above.  "Ride,  senor!  Ride  and  give  warning 
lest  they  have  not  seen  it  at  El  Quiss!  I  go  to 
my  woman  and  children !"  Shouting  it,  he  swung 

234 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

at  right  angles  and  flew  down  the  valley  at  top 
speed. 

Almost  as  quickly  Seyd  galloped  off.  One 
glance  had  shown  the  tall  smoke  plumes  which 
were  rising  like  ghostly  sentinels  above  the  black 
edge  of  the  pine,  and  with  it  there  burst  upon 
him  a  vivid  picture  of  the  muddy  sea  behind  the 
great  dam.  Crossing  the  river  that  morning,  he 
had  noticed  that  the  floods  were  running  above 
last  year's  highest  mark,  and  almost  as  plainly 
as  by  actual  sight  his  imagination  pictured  the 
wave  which  had  just  leaped,  like  a  huge  yellow 
hound,  over  the  broken  dam.  A  solid  wall  of 
water,  he  saw  it  sweeping  down  the  valley,  lap 
ping  up  villages,  ranches,  jacals,  with  greedy 
tongues.  Roweling  the  flanks  of  his  tired  beast, 
he  drove  on.  Yet,  despite  his  apprehension,  the 
phrase  rang  in  his  mind  like  a  clashing  bell: 
"I  shall  see  her!  Now  I  shall  see  her!" 
While  he  was  still  half  a  mile  away  he  saw  two 
mounted  men  dash  out  of  the  patio  gates  and 
ride  off  at  right  angles,  north  and  south.  After 
them  came  a  crowd  on  foot,  and  as  they  opened 
to  let  him  through  Seyd  noted  with  wonder 
that  all  w^ere  women.  His  surprise  deepened 
when,  driving  in  through  the  gates,  he  almost 
rode  over  Francesca,  who  stood  with  Roberta 
against  her  skirts  in  the  deserted  patio.  While, 
breathing  hard  after  his  wild  ride,  he  sat  looking 
down  upon  her  she  returned  his  gaze  with  big 
mournful  eyes. 

16  235 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"You  are— alone?" 

"Yes."  Hesitating,  she  went  on,  "Don  Se- 
bastien  left  an  hour  ago — immediately  after  our 
arrival — with  the  men  to  work  on  the  dam." 

He  almost  shouted.  It  was  inconceivable, 
except  on  a  supposition  that  filled  him  with  sud 
den  hope.  "Then  it  isn't  true?  If  it  were,  he 
would  not  have  left  you.  He  lied!  Paulo  lied! 
All  day  I  have  ridden  hard  on  your  trail  to  dis 
prove  it !  He  lied !  Tell  me  that  Paulo  lied !" 

It  was  not  necessary  to  reply  in  words.  The 
slender  weaving  fingers,  her  quivering  distress, 
the  pity  and  grief  of  her  eyes,  made  answer. 

"Oh,  how  could  you?"  But  his  natural  sense 
of  justice  instantly  asserted  itself.  "But  no! 
I  have  only  myself  to  blame.  I  played  the  fool 
all  through.  Yet,  I  meant  well — but  I  explained 
that  in  my  letter." 

"I  only  received  it  two  hours  ago.  Oh,  why 
didn't  you  send  it  sooner?" 

"I  did — wrote  the  instant  I  got  the  paper.  It 
lay  here  four  days." 

Now,  only  twenty  miles  away,  at  speed  swifter 
than  bird  flight,  the  wave  was  leaping  over  the 
jungle  with  plumage  of  tangled  debris  streaming 
out  behind.  Even  then  they  might  have  caught 
its  distant  roar.  But,  blind  to  all  but  the  for 
tuitous  chance  that  had  dogged  their  love  to  this 
unhappy  conclusion,  they  stood  gazing  at  each 
other  in  distress  and  despair. 

"We   have   been    unfortunate,   you   and    I." 

236 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

She  spoke,  mournfully,  at  last.  "And  this  is  the 
end/ 
He  would  not  accept  it.  In  thought  he  was 
storming  the  barrier  her  act  had  placed  between 
them  when  her  sorrowful  voice  answered  the 
mute  appeal  of  his  eyes.  ">?'.  the  end.  If 
Sebastien  had  not  been  so  kind!  He  took  ad 
vantage  of  my  anger  to  place  bars  between  you 
and  me,  but  there  he  rests.  His  consideration 
deserves  some  return,  and  the  least  I  can  offer  is 
the  outward  semblance  of  good  wifehood.  You 
must  go!" 

**What!  Leave  you — now?"  Recalled  to  a 
sudden  realization  of  then-  imminent  danger,  he 
pleaded,  "First  let  me  place  you  in  safety?" 

"No."  She  nodded  toward  a  saddled  horse 
under  the  gateway.  "In  a  few  minutes  I  can 
overtake  the  people.  With  you  will  go  my — " 
While  they  talked  Roberta  had  wandered  over 
to  the  gates.  Now  she  suddenly  cried:  "Oh, 
senora!  Don  Sebastien!" 

Seyd's  view  of  the  trail  was  limited  by  a  swing 
to  the  south  that  cut  off  all  but  a  couple  of  hun 
dred  yards.  As  he  made,  instinctively,  to  move 
forward  Francesca  caught  his  bridle.  "No!  no! 
He  must  not  see  you!  If  he  finds  you  here — with 
me — oh,  has  there  not  been  trouble  enough?" 
Her  distracted  glance  circled  the  courtyard. 
"  See,  the  old  guardhouse !  Dismount — quickly ! 
Lead  in  your  horse,  then  I  will  ride  with  the  child 
to  meet  him!" 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  felt  like  anything  but 
hiding.  His  eye  lit  with  a  hard  gray  gleam.  But 
in  these  premises  that  he  had  forced  upon  her  it 
was  not  for  him  to  pick  and  choose.  He  yielded 
to  her  pleading,  "For  my  sake?" 

Dismounting,  he  led  his  horse  in  through  the 
arched  doorway,  and  as  she  closed  the  door  upon 
him  Francesca  added  a  last  hurried  instruction. 
"He  will  undoubtedly  turn  with  me.  Give  us 
time  to  gain  cover  under  the  oaks,  then  take  you 
the  trail  to  the  south.  It  reaches  high  ground 
quickly.  And  ride  hard" — her  voice  broke  in  a 
sob — "for  if  you  should  be  overtaken  by  the 
water  what  in  this  miserable  world  would  be  left 
for  me?" 

"And  this  is  the  end?"  He  caught  her  hand 
between  the  closing  doors. 

"The  end — for  thy  sake."  She  dropped  into 
the  tender  second  person  of  the  Spanish.  "Si, 
if  you  wish  it." 

Left  alone,  Seyd  stood  listening,  the  soft  touch 
of  her  lips  thrilling  upon  his.  In  the  guardhouse, 
used  now  for  a  storeroom,  all  but  one  window  was 
blocked  by  piles  of  sacked  maize,  but  as  his  eyes 
grew  accustomed  to  the  half  gloom  he  made  out 
the  massive  beams  which  held  up  the  heavy  roof. 
The  wall  from  which  the  one  window  looked  out 
formed  part  of  the  hacienda's  southern  face,  and, 
remembering  that  the  trail  inclined  in  that  di 
rection,  he  moved  over  to  it  when  he  caught  the 
clatter  of  departing  hoofs.  Deeply  recessed  in 

238 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  thick  wall,  the  low  sill  afforded  standing 
room,  and  by  peering  obliquely  through  the 
bars  he  caught  first  the  flutter  of  her  skirt,  then 
gradually  she  forged  into  full  view.  About 
three  hundred  yards  away  the  trail  ran  in  among 
shade  oaks,  cedars,  and  great  spreading  banyans, 
that  were  strewn  in  clumps  all  over  the  pastures. 
But  just  before  she  rode  in  among  them  Sebastien 
and  Pancho,  his  mozo,  galloped  out  from  among 
the  trees. 

Even  if  the  wind  had  not  been  dashing  the 
sheeting  rain  in  his  face  it  would  have  been  im 
possible  for  Seyd  to  have  caught  a  distant  mur 
mur  of  voices.  But  he  saw  the  mozo  lift  Roberta 
from  Francesca's  beast,  and  lead  off,  with  his  mis 
tress  following.  Then  Sebastien  came  galloping 
on  toward  the  gates. 

"Coming  for  something — money  or  papers," 
Seyd  thought.  "Just  for  fear  he  looks  in — " 

At  the  far  end  of  the  room  a  pile  of  sacked  beans 
formed  a  natural  stall,  and  he  had  no  more  than 
gotten  his  horse  behind  it  when  the  clatter  of 
hoofs  broke  in  the  court.  He  could  not,  of  course, 
see  Sebastien  dismount.  But,  faint  as  they  were, 
his  highly  keyed  senses  recorded  the  vibrations  of 
the  other's  footsteps  as  he  followed  the  muddy 
horse  tracks  across  to  the  guardhouse. 

Outside  the  door  Sebastien  stopped.  In  the 
tense  pause  that  followed  Seyd's  hand  went  to 
his  gun.  At  first  the  act  was  due  to  the  natural 
instinct  of  self  protection,  but  in  the  very  mo- 

«39 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

ment  of  its  inception  that  gave  place  to  a  second, 
more  powerful  impulse  that  s  dyed  his  face  and 
neck  with  a  dark  flush.  Drawing  the  weapon, 
he  trained  it  across  a  sack  at  the  door,  and  at  that 
moment  no  primitive  man  in  hiding  at  the  mouth 
of  his  enemy's  cave  was  ever  obsessed  by  a  fiercer 
lust  to  kill.  All  of  his  trials  and  long  travail, 
despair,  seemed  in  his  disordered  fancy  to  ma 
terialize  just  then  in  Sebastien's  person.  And  it 
would  be  so  easy !  A  slight  pressure  of  his  finger 
the  instant  he  showed  in  the  doorway,  then — the 
flood! 

In  a  flash  the  pros  and  cons  of  it  passed  through 
his  mind.  If  the  circumstances  were  reversed  he 
knew  exactly  the  course  that  Sebastien  would 
take.  And  almost  as  he  thought  it  came  proof 
— first  the  grating  of  the  key  in  the  lock  of  the 
inner  door,  next  the  groaning  complaint  of  rusty 
hinges  as  Sebastien  swung  to  the  iron  outer  doors 
which  had  not  been  used  for  a  score  of  years, 
finally  the  wooden  crash  of  the  oaken  bars  falling 
into  their  staples. 

It  was  all  over  before  Seyd  really  understood. 
With  knowledge  there  flashed  upon  him  the 
thought  of  the  flood.  Rushing  across  the  floor, 
he  leaped  and  threw  all  of  his  weight  against 
the  inner  door.  It  hardly  shook,  and  the  recoil 
threw  him  flat  on  the  floor.  As  he  rose  came  the 
clatter  of  Sebastien's  departing  hoofs,  and  run 
ning  across  to  the  window  he  was  just  in  time  to 
see  him  come  in  view.  On  the  skirts  of  the  timber 

240 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

he  reined  suddenly  in  and  sat  his  beast,  listening. 
Then,  after  a  quick  glance  northward,  he  galloped 
on. 

And  Seyd,  at  the  window,  also  heard. 

Above  the  sough  of  the  wind  which  drove  the 
sheeting  rain  into  his  face  he  caught  the  roar  of 
the  oncoming  flood. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Ethe  few  minutes  that  passed  before  she 
let  Sebastien  Francesca  had  regained  self 
control.  To  his  reproof,  "This  was  foolish;  why 
did  you  linger?"  she  calmly  replied,  "I  wished 
to  make  sure  that  all  the  people  were  out." 

He  nodded  approval.     "Then  no  one  is  left?" 

"No  one." 

"  Bueno!  We  have  no  more  than  time  to  make 
the  hills.  Pancho's  beast  is  stronger  than 
yours.  Give  him  the  child."  She  had  begun 
to  hope,  but  it  died  within  her  as  he  went  on: 
"In  my  rooms  are  valuable  papers.  'Twill  take 
but  a  moment  to  get  them.  Ride  on,  you.  My 
horse  goes  two  paces  to  your  one.  I  can  catch 
you  halfway  to  the  hills." 

She  almost  fainted  when  he  rode  off,  for  just  as 
surely  as  though  she  had  seen  him  questioning 
the  fugitive  women  she  knew  now  that  he  was 
aware  of  Seyd's  presence.  She  reined  her  animal 
around  to  follow,  then  checked  it  sharply  under  a 
sudden  inspiration. 

"Why  do  you  wait,  Pancho?"  she  asked, 
sharply.  "While  you  sleep  the  flood  will  be  on 
us.  Ride!  Ride  your  hardest!  I  will  follow." 

242 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

The  mozo,  to  tell  the  truth,  was  damning  with 
inward  tremblings  the  luck  that  had  placed  him 
in  such  jeopardy.  Only  the  fear  of  Sebastien 
had  kept  him  from  bolting,  and  now,  without 
even  a  backward  glance,  he  laid  on  with  quirt 
and  spurs  and  galloped  off  with  Roberta,  leaving 
Francesca  free  to  carry  out  her  plan. 

It  was  quite  simple.  In  this,  the  rainy  season, 
the  shade  trees  were  draped  from  crown  to  foot 
with  green  lace  of  morning  glories,  and  on  the 
outer  edge  of  the  nearest  clump  a  banyan  had 
been  converted  into  a  huge  tent  which  would  have 
stabled  a  hundred  horses.  Parting  the  lace  work  of 
leaves  with  one  hand,  after  she  had  ridden  under 
it,  Francesca  obtained,  through  the  gateway,  an 
oblique  view  of  the  guardhouse  at  the  moment 
Sebastien  closed  the  iron  doors.  The  crash  of 
the  bars  carried  to  her  tree,  and  had  he  looked 
that  way  he  might  have  seen  the  curtain  of 
leaves  swing  under  the  forward  move  of  her  beast. 
But,  controlling  the  impulse,  she  reined  it  back 
again.  When  Sebastien  raced  past  a  couple  of 
minutes  later  she  dropped  her  hand  and  shrank 
in  sudden  fear. 

It  was,  however,  impossible  for  him  to  see  her. 
Moreover,  the  intervening  clumps  prevented  him 
from  discovering  that  she  was  not  with  Pancho 
until  he  came  bursting  out  on  his  heels  in  open 
pasture  half  a  mile  ahead. 

"  Tonto!   where  is  thy  mistress?" 

The  mozo's  look  of  frightened  surprise  pro- 

243 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

claimed  at  once  his  ignorance  and  fear.  Both 
had  reined  in,  and  under  the  other's  deadly  look 
Pancho  cowered  behind  his  bent  arm.  Sickly 
green  patches  stained  his  dull  chocolate.  When 
Sebastien  pulled  a  pistol  from  his  holster  he 
bowed  down  to  the  saddle  horn,  his  face  in  his 
hands.  Leaning  over,  Sebastien  placed  the  muz 
zle  against  the  fellow's  head.  His  finger  even 
had  tightened.  Then,  checking  the  impulse,  came 
Roberta's  whimper,  "Seiior!  oh,  senor!"  Above 
it  rose  a  distant  thunderous  roar,  and,  glancing 
northward,  he  saw  in  the  far  distance  a  writhing 
movement  in  the  jungle  beyond  the  pastures. 

"Off,  fool!     Save  the  child!" 

Striking  the  man's  shoulders  with  the  pistol,  he 
wheeled  his  horse  and  shot  away,  heading  back 
to  the  hacienda.  Riding,  he  kept  one  eye  on  the 
green  wave  that  was  moving  with  the  speed  of 
the  wind  over  the  jungle.  As  he  passed  in  among 
the  shade  trees  it  boiled  over  the  far  edge  of  the 
pastures,  and  from  beneath  the  swaying  trees 
emerged  a  muddy  wall  crowned  with  bristling 
black.  Traveling  more  swiftly  in  the  open,  it 
came  on  at  an  acute  angle  which  had  its  point 
in  the  flooded  lands  along  the  river,  its  base  in  the 
jungle  close  to  the  hills,  and  when  Sebastien 
dashed  out  of  the  timber  the  point  had  passed  the 
hacienda. 

Even  then  he  must  have  known  it  for  hopeless. 
The  thunderous  diapason  had  risen  into  a  furious 
crescendo  which  was  spaced  by  the  tear  and  crash 

244 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

of  uprooted  trees,  and,  higher  than  his  head,  the 
liquid  wall  was  coming  on  under  the  pressure  of 
the  yellow  frothing  sea  that  stretched  behind 
to  the  limit  of  sight.  Yet,  laying  on  quirt  and 
spurs,  he  raced  down  its  front  in  a  desperate 
spurt  for  the  gates. 

While  he  was  still  a  hundred  yards  away  the 
wave  struck  the  northern  wall  of  the  compound 
that  fenced  the  buildings.  Built  solidly  of  stone, 
it  melted,  vanished  without  a  premonitory 
shiver,  and  in  its  overthrow  accomplished  good. 
Catching  root  and  branch  in  the  debris,  the  grind 
ing  welter  of  fallen  trees  hesitated,  then  piled  in 
a  huge  tangled  bar  upon  the  line  of  cottages  and 
stables  which  intervened  between  the  wall  and 
house. 

To  Sebastien,  however,  this  brought  no  respite. 
Shooting  along  the  eastern  wall,  the  wave  out- 
raced  him  and  beat  him  to  the  gate  by  a  long 
fifty  yards. 

While  Francesca  was  still  under  the  banyan 
she  had  heard  the  roaring  diapason  of  the  flood. 
Clothed  in  dripping  lacery  of  leaves  and  flowers 
torn  away  by  the  beast's  leap  from  the  spur,  she 
galloped  into  the  patio,  and  when  she  dismounted 
the  vines  still  twined  around  her  limbs.  Without 
waiting  to  tear  them  off  she  threw  all  of  her 
strength  into  a  vain  effort  to  swing  the  bars  of  the 
guardhouse  doors,  but,  swollen  by  the  rain,  they 
were  fast  in  the  staples. 

245 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"Oh,  what  shall  I  do?" 

Her  cry  carried  through  to  Seyd.  After  a 
fruitless  attempt  on  the  door  he  was  just  about 
to  attack  the  window  bars  with  an  oaken  club 
he  had  found  in  one  corner.  Now,  tearing  away 
the  sacks  of  maize  that  blocked  the  one  small 
square  window  on  her  side,  he  thrust  it  between 
the  bars. 

"Knock  them  up  with  this!" 

But  after  the  bars  yielded  the  rusty  doors  de 
fied  her  strength.  "They  will  not  budge!  Oh, 
I  cannot  move  them!" 

Again  his  practical  sense  served.  "Slip  a 
stirrup  over  the  staple,  then  start  your  horse 
gently.  Fine!"  He  heard  the  groan  of  the 
moving  door.  "Key  gone!  Never  mind,  I  can 
shoot  out  the  lock.  Stand  away — off  to  one 
side." 

Above  the  roar  of  the  flood  Sebastien  heard 
the  shots.  A  few  seconds  later  he  saw  Seyd  look 
out  of  the  gateway,  then  rush  back  in.  Behind 
the  gates  an  iron  ladder  led  up  to  a  lookout  post 
on  top  of  the  guardhouse,  and,  racing  down  the 
front  of  the  wave,  Sebastien  saw  Seyd  rise  above 
the  low  parapet  and  lift  Francesca  to  his  side. 

At  the  same  moment  they  saw  him.  In 
Francesca's  outstretched  hands  Sebastien  saw 
her  impulse  to  save.  In  the  sudden  covering  of 
her  eyes  he  read  his  fate.  The  fifty  yards  that 
lay  between  him  and  the  gates  might  just  as  well 
have  been  a  thousand,  for,  less  than  half  the 

246 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

distance  away,  the  great  yellow  comber  rose  high 
over  his  head. 

Before  it  broke,  however,  he  did  two  things — 
reined  his  horse  to  face  it,  then,  just  before  he 
went  under  the  grinding  welter,  with  the  same 
easy  courtesy  which  he  would  have  shown  to  a 
kinsman  or  a  friend,  he  turned  in  the  saddle  and 
waved  his  hand. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

FROM  the  time  Seyd  rode  into  the  hacienda 
up  to  that  moment  less  than  twenty  min 
utes  had  passed,  but  events  had  leaped  to  a  con 
clusion. 

The  barrier  of  debris  across  the  outer  buildings 
had  diminished  the  force  of  the  blow  upon  the 
house,  and  had  the  water  gained  instant  access 
to  the  interior  and  equalized  the  pressure  it 
might  have  stood.  As  the  wave  raced  past,  level 
with  the  high  wall,  the  patio  presented  for  an 
instant  a  curious  resemblance  to  a  square  vessel 
pressed  down  till  its  edges  just  rose  above  the 
water.  The  next,  its  stout  walls  fell  inward,  and 
over  them  a  yellow  wave  leaped  at  the  house. 
Reinforced  by  its  partition  walls,  it  withstood  for 
a  few  seconds  the  enormous  pressure.  Then 
above  the  cracking  and  grinding  of  debris  and 
the  mingled  roar  of  the  flood  rose  the  boom  of 
doors  and  windows  blown  out  of  their  frames. 

Because  of  its  length  the  guardhouse  went 
first.  Feeling  it  tremble  under  his  feet,  Seyd 
lifted  Francesca  and  held  her  face  in  against  his 
breast.  Not  that  he  was  in  the  least  resigned. 
Never  in  all  his  life  had  he  felt  a  keener  desire  to 

248 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

live.  His  glance  darted  hither  and  thither,  and 
when,  freed  by  the  fall  of  the  stone  lintels,  a 
patio  gate  sprang  out  of  the  yellow  cauldron 
almost  at  his  feet  he  snatched  up  Francesea, 
leaped,  and  landed  in  its  very  center.  Falling 
under  her,  he  was,  for  an  instant,  breathless. 
But  in  the  few  seconds  that  he  lay  there  gasping 
circumstances  worked  in  their  favor.  Thrust  by 
the  impact  into  the  recoil  of  the  wave  from  the 
house  wall,  the  gate  was  heaved  out  of  the  patio, 
and  passed  the  guardhouse  just  before  the  heavy 
tiled  roof  collapsed  with  the  walls. 

Almost  in  an  instant  the  house  crumbled  and 
melted  with  scarcely  a  splash.  Sitting  up  a  few 
seconds  later,  Seyd  looked  back  on  all  that  was 
left  of  El  Quiss,  the  barrier  of  debris  rising,  a 
black  reef,  out  of  a  yellow  sea.  A  mile  ahead  the 
wave  roared  on,  its  furious  crescendo  again  re 
duced  to  a  booming  diapason.  While  the  gate 
was  being  carried  with  incredible  swiftness  across 
the  El  Quiss  pastures  the  roar  sank  to  a  distant 
hum,  and  presently  died  altogether,  leaving  only 
the  quiet  lapping  of  the  waters  in  the  falling  dusk. 

So  quickly  had  it  all  passed  that  Seyd  found  it 
hard  to  believe  they  were  floating  in  comparative 
safety.  The  gate,  which  was  ten  feet  by  twelve 
in  size  and  four  inches  thick,  floated  evenly,  and  if 
an  occasional  wave  ran  across  it  the  tepid  rain 
water  of  the  tropics  caused  no  discomfort. 
Neither  were  they  in  danger  from  the  debris, 
logs,  and  uprooted  trees  which  floated  at  equal 

249 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

speed  on  currents  that  were  setting  back  to  the 
river.  With  a  pole  that  he  picked  up  Seyd  was 
able  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  few  that 
rolled  and  tumbled  when  their  branches  caught 
on  the  bottom,  and  when  at  last  they  drifted 
on  the  deeper,  slower  currents  of  the  river  he 
turned  to  Francesca,  who  had  remained  a  hud 
dled,  sobbing  heap  just  where  she  fell. 

She  looked  up  when  he  touched  her  shoulder. 
"Oh,  I  feel  wicked!"  she  cried,  remorsefully. 
"If  I  had  only  waited  for  a  few  more  days,  given 
you  time  to  explain,  he  would  still  be  alive." 

"It  was  perfectly  natural,"  Seyd  comforted 
her.  "He  would  absolve  you  from  all  blame 
were  he  here,  for  with  all  his  faults  he  was  big  and 
brave." 

"You  really  think  that  he  would?"  She 
looked  up  with  tearful  anxiety. 

"I'm  sure  of  it.     How  could  he  do  otherwise?" 

"But  he  was — my  husband.  And  I  left  him 
— for  you." 

"Yet  I  do  not  think  that  he  held  you  in  blame." 

Kneeling  beside  her,  with  one  arm  around  her 
shoulders,  he  gave  his  reason — Sebastien's  last 
salute.  Even  if  this  started  her  tears  anew  she, 
nevertheless,  felt  comforted.  When  a  black 
shape  forged  out  of  the' dusk  alongside,  and  he  had 
to  return  to  his  pole,  her  natural  spirit  reasserted 
itself. 

"Here  am  I,  crying  like  a  child  instead  of  help 
ing.  What  can  I  do?" 

250 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

There  was  really  nothing.  But  to  keep  her 
from  brooding  he  placed  her  on  watch.  "If 
you'll  keep  a  lookout  I'll  take  a  shove  at  every 
thing  that  floats  in  reach.  The  current  is  setting 
across  the  river,  and  we  have  nearly  twenty  miles 
to  work  in.  With  any  old  luck  we  ought  to  be 
able  to  land- at  Santa  Gertrudis." 

Thick  dusk  presently  merged  into  night,  but 
they  were  helped  by  a  full  moon  which  shed  a 
dew  of  light  through  the  falling  rain.  Not  that 
they  voyaged  without  hazard.  Twice  they  were 
almost  swamped  by  trees  which  rolled  over  under 
the  thrust  of  Seyd's  pole.  Farther  down  they 
narrowly  escaped  shipwreck  on  wooded  islands. 
Yet,  thrusting  and  hauling,  he  worked  steadily 
with  the  favoring  current,  and  they  had  gained 
almost  across  when,  rounding  a  bend,  they  sight 
ed  a  distant  light. 

"Caliban's,  for  sure!  Only  another  hour  to 
food  and  fire!"  Seyd  cheered  her. 

He  had,  however,  his  own  misgivings.  As 
they  drew  into  the  shadow  of  the  Barranca  wall 
the  moonlight  grew  fainter,  and,  drifting  later 
over  the  submerged  jungle,  they  were  hard  put 
to  avoid  the  treetops  which  upreared  like  huge 
mushrooms  above  the  flood.  More  than  once 
they  were  almost  swept  off  the  raft  by  bejucos, 
vegetable  cables,  which  stretched  from  top  to  top, 
and  as  these  grew  thicker  Seyd  saw  that  disaster 
was  merely  a  question  of  time.  He  was  hoping 
desperately  that  their  capsizing  would  not  entail 

17  251 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

too  long  a  swim,  when  out  of  the  obscurity  rose  a 
huge  black  shape. 

With  a  shock  that  threw  them  both  down,  the 
raft  grounded  in  shallow  water. 

It  was  the  plateau  on  which  the  new  smelter 
stood.  But,  changed  as  it  was  in  the  new 
geography  of  the  flood,  Seyd  did  not  recognize 
it  until,  scrambling  ashore  with  Francesca,  he 
saw  above  the  dark  mass  of  the  buildings  the 
cable  and  iron  ore  buckets  in  dim  outline  against 
the  sky. 

"Why,  it's  the  smelter!"  he  shouted,  in  glad 
surprise.  "Ever  since  the  explosion  we  have 
kept  a  man  here  on  guard.  Ola!  Calixto  !  Ola! 


While  he  was  calling  a  yellow  oblong  broke  out 
of  the  building's  mass,  framing  the  black  silhou 
ette  of  a  man.  "It  is  the  jefe!"  They  heard  his 
comment  to  his  woman  inside,  then,  uttering  a 
volley  of  surprised  "Caramba's!"  he  came  rush 
ing  down  the  bank  with  his  lantern. 

When  Francesca's  pale  wet  face  shone  under 
its  sudden  glow  he  dropped  the  lantern,  which, 
fortunately,  did  not  go  out.  Picking  it  up  again, 
he  lighted  their  way  to  the  adobe  that  had 
served  Billy  for  house  and  office  while  the 
smelter  was  building. 

For  use  during  the  rains,  a  chimney  and  wide 
hearth  had  been  installed  in  the  adobe,  and  while 
Calixto  was  building  a  roaring  fire  Seyd  directed 
a  piratical  raid  on  Billy's  trunks.  At  first  his 

252 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

search  returned  only  muddy  overalls  and  soiled 
clothing  of  various  sorts,  but  at  the  very  bottom 
— just  as  they  had  been  placed  by  the  hands  of  a 
careful  mother — a  new  suit  of  flannel  pajamas  and 
a  voluminous  woolen  bathrobe  appeared.  When, 
with  some  misgivings,  and  confused,  he  suggested 
a  change,  a  touch  of  the  girl's  old  archness  flashed 
out.  Her  smile  was  almost  mischievous  as  she 
returned  thanks. 

"I'm  sorry  there's  nothing  better  to  offer." 
The  smile  emboldened  him  to  add:  "But  they 
will  serve  till  we  have  something  to  eat.  Then 
you  may  have  the  fire  all  to  yourself  to  dry  your 
own  things." 

She  smiled  again  when,  returning  with  food 
and  coffee  prepared  by  Calixto's  woman,  he 
exclaimed,  "You  look  like  the  Queen  of  Sheba!" 

With  the  brown-black  hair  swinging  almost  to 
her  knees  and  the  bathrobe — a  gorgeous  affair  in 
pink  chosen  with  an  eye  to  Billy's  vivid  taste 
— belted  in  to  her  waist  and  pajamas  ballooning 
beneath  over  small  bare  feet,  she  did  look 
Oriental.  When  the  coffee  and  food  had  relit 
her  eyes  and  restored  her  usual  faint  color  he  was 
sure  that  she  had  never  looked  so  distractingly 
pretty.  The  effect  was  not  diminished  either 
by  her  small  vexed  frowns  at  the  revelations  of 
smooth  whiteness  caused  by  the  persistent  slip 
ping  of  the  wide  sleeves.  When,  as  they  sat  by 
the  fire  after  the  meal,  warmth  and  fatigue  moved 
her  to  a  yawn  and  he  caught  the  full  redness  of 

253 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

her  mouth  before  she  could  cover  it  the  intimacy 
of  it  all  sent  the  blood  drumming  through  his 
pulses.  If  her  serious  eyes  restrained  him,  they 
did  not  repress  his  thought. 

"I  have  you — now!  I  have  you  at  last,  and 
I'll  never  let  you  go  again!" 

Undoubtedly  she  furnished  the  inspiration 
which  kindled  a  sudden  light  in  his  eyes.  "Why 
not?"  he  urged  against  the  one  objection  that 
occurred  in  his  thought.  "It's  an  awful  smash 
at  the  conventions,  but — it's  the  only  way.  He 
locked  me  in  to  drown — and  do  you  suppose  that 
he'd  hesitate  if  he  were  here  now  in  my  shoes? 
I  guess  not.  And  if  he  would,  I  won't.  By  the 
Lord,  I'll  do  it!" 

He  rose  soon  after  reaching  his  conclusion. 
"You  must  be  very  tired,  so  I'll  go  now  and 
leave  you  to  dry  your  things.  You  know,  we 
start  early  in  the  morning." 

"Start  early?"     She  opened  her  sleepy  eyes. 

"Listen!"  He  took  her  gently  by  both  shoul 
ders.  "We  have  been  held  apart  so  far  by  all 
sorts  of  accidents  and  misunderstandings.  You 
know  how  closely  we  came  to  utter  shipwreck?" 
Her  shiver  answering,  he  went  on,  "Now,  will 
you  trust — leave  all  to  me?" 

She  had  been  no  woman  if  she  had  not  divined 
the  restraint  behind  his  quiet  during  the  last 
warm  hour,  and,  rising  suddenly  upon  small  bare 
toes,  she  paid  him  for  his  consideration.  "I  will 
do  anything  you  say." 

254 


CHAPTER  XXV 

BREAKING  through  the  stream  of  ocean 
vapors,  the  morning  sun  showed  the  jungle 
raising  a  languid  head  above  the  ruins  of  the 
flood.  Long  rents  in  its  green  mantle,  bare 
patches  of  yellow  mud,  dark  bruises  where  acres 
of  debris  had  been  piled  in  twisted  masses,  testi 
fied  to  the  force  of  the  wave.  But,  overlooking 
the  wreckage  from  the  smelter,  Seyd  took  notice 
principally  of  a  fact  that  suited  his  purpose — 
the  river  had  been  swept  clean  of  driftwood. 
Not  since  the  beginning  of  the  rains  had  it  shown 
such  open  stretches. 

"Good!"  he  muttered.  "The  sooner  we  get 
away  the  better.  I'll  call  her  at  once." 

When,  however,  he  knocked  at  the  office  door 
Francesca  answered  "Come!"  When  he  entered 
she  smiled  at  his  surprise.  "You  said  that  we 
were  to  start  earlv.  Here  I  am,  dressed  and 
dried." 

"Not  before  breakfast,"  he  laughed.  "It  is 
ready.  I'll  have  it  brought  right  in." 

All  through  the  meal  her  eyes  questioned,  but, 
denying  her  curiosity,  he  talked  of  anything  and 
everything  but  that  which  filled  her  mind.  Even 

255 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

when,  clothed  in  his  waterproof,  she  took  her 
seat  opposite  him  in  the  stern  of  the  dugout  he 
denied  their  eloquent  appeal.  While  sending  the 
boat  with  vigorous  strokes  flying  downstream 
he  drew  her  attention  to  this  and  that  phase  of 
devastation  and  commented  on  the  beauty  of  the 
morning,  but  not  a  word  as  to  his  purpose.  It 
was  cruel,  and  her  eyes  said  so.  But,  remorse 
less,  he  held  on  till,  about  midway  of  the  morning, 
they  sighted  San  Nicolas.  All  the  way  down  he 
had  hugged  the  Santa  Gertrudis  side,  and  she  re 
ceived  the  first  inkling  when  he  replied  to  her 
question  if  it  were  not  time  to  pull  across. 

"We  are  not  going  there." 

"Not  going  there?"  she  repeated,  surprised. 

"No,  we  shall  keep  right  on — down  to  sea." 

"The  sea?" 

"The  sea."  He  nodded  firmly.  "And  the 
minute  we  land  there  we're  going  to  be  mar 
ried." 

The  idea  was  altogether  too  radical  to  be 
absorbed  at  once.  No  doubt  she  thought  he  was 
joking,  for  a  smile  broke  around  her  mouth. 
Not  until  they  were  almost  opposite  San  Nicolas 
did  it  give  place  to  puzzled  alarm. 

"But,  senor — Rob — Roberto."  She  changed 
it  in  answer  to  his  quick  look.  "  But,  Roberto — 

"Might  as  well  make  it  Bob,"  he  cut  in, 
•  crisply.  "It  may  seem  strange  at  first,  but 
seeing  that  we're  to  be  married  you  might  as 
well  begin  to  get  used  to  it  now." 

256 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

The  San  Nicolas  walls  now  lay,  a  long,  warm 
band,  across  their  beam.  From  them  her  glance 
returned  to  the  pendulum  swing  of  his  body. 
Finality  centered  in  his  steady  stroke.  It  told 
that  he  had  settled  down  for  the  day.  Had  he 
calculated  its  effect  beforehand  he  could  not  have 
done  better.  Accustomed  to  Spanish  deference, 
she  was  nonplussed  by  his  authoritative  air,  yet 
its  very  unusualness  invested  it  with  a  certain 
charm. 

"But — Bob?"  Somehow  the  curt  appellation 
acquired  grace  and  softness  from  her  Spanish 
lisp.  It  fell  so  prettily  that  he  made  her  repeat 
it.  But,  though  she  added  to  its  attraction  an 
appealing  glance,  he  remained  grimly  obdurate. 

"Give  me  time  to  think?" 

"All  you  want.  At  this  speed" — the  oars 
creaked  under  his  stroke — "you  will  have  about 
twenty-four  hours." 

She  looked  at  him,  frightened.  "Please?  At 
least  let  us  talk  it  over." 

The  cheerful  roll  of  oars  in  the  rowlocks  re 
turned  wooden  answer. 

"Won't  you?" 

He  stopped  rowing  and  sat  regarding  her 
sternly.  "I'm  allowing  you  more  time  than  you 
gave  me.  If" — he  paused,  then,  judging  it 
necessary,  relentlessly  continued — "if  he  were 
here  in  my  place  do  you  suppose — " 

"Oh,  he  would!  He  did!  After  he  had  in 
sured  me  against — " 

257 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

" — Me,"  he  supplied,  with  a  dogged  shake 
of  the  head,  then  went  on,  "Well,  even  if  he 
would,  I  won't."  As  he  bent  again  to  the  oars 
the  touch  of  admiration  that  leavened  her  un 
doubted  fright  paid  tribute  to  his  stubborn  logic. 
Settling  to  his  stroke,  he  began  again:  "Suppos 
ing  that  I  complied  and  put  you  ashore  at  San 
Nicolas?  Do  you  think  that  Don  Luis  would  be 
any  more  favorably  inclined  toward  me?  You 
know  that  he  wouldn't.  I  should  do  well  to 
escape  with  my  life.  But  if  you  go  back  as  my 
wife — well,  the  most  they  can  do  is  to  turn  us 
out.  Of  course  I  can  understand  your  feeling. 
It  will  be  a  frightful  breach  of  the  conventions — " 

"No,  it  is  not  that,"  she  interrupted  him. 
"My  friends  will  be  scandalized,  si,  but  they  are 
long  ago  broken  to  that.  They  would  be 
dreadfully  disappointed  if  I  did  not  fulfil  their 
predictions  by  making  a  shameful  end.  And  it 
isn't — he.  It  is  wicked  to  acknowledge  it,  but 
I  know — I  know  now  that  no  matter  how  hard  I 
tried  to  school  myself  I  should  sooner  or  later 
have  run  away  to  you.  They'll  think  it  shocking 
— my  friends,  my  mother — but  I  can  endure  it." 

"And  that  can  be  avoided.  I'll  take  you  away 
— throw  up  everything  here — make  a  new  start 
somewhere  else." 

"No!  no!"  She  shook  her  head.  "Your  work 
is  here,  and  I  am  just  as  proud  of  it  as  you  could 
be.  Let  them  chatter.  No,  it  isn't  even  that." 

"Then  what  is  it?" 

258 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"You  wouldn't  understand.  It  is  silly,  just  a 
woman's  reason.  No,  you  would  not  under 
stand." 

"I'll  try." 

"It  is  so  foolish."  Nevertheless,  encouraged 
by  his  sympathy,  she  continued:  "Do  you  know 
that  since  the  first  kiss  passed  between  us  a  year 
ago  we  have  had  speech  together  only  for  a  few 
minutes  in  the  presence  of  others?  And  her 
courtship  is  of  such  supreme  importance  in  a 
girl's  life.  It  is  her  love  time,  and  she  loves  to 
lengthen  and  draw  out  its  lingering  sweetness. 
And  ours  has  been  so  short." 

It  was  the  poignant  cry  of  her  girl's  heart  ex 
pressing  the  yearning  of  her  starved  love,  and, 
coming  from  such  spirited  lips,  it  moved  him 
deeply.  Slipping  the  oars,  he  seized  her  two 
hands  and  pulled  her  forward  into  his  arms. 
Then,  while  her  dark  head  lay  pillowed  upon  his 
shoulder,  he  continued  the  argument  to  better 
advantage. 

The  walls  of  San  Nicolas  had  dwindled  to  a 
golden  streak  before  she  looked  up  in  his  face. 
"Supposing  that  I  had  refused?" 

"I'd  have  carried  you  off  in  spite  of  yourself." 

And,  whether  she  believed  him  or  not,  she  clung 
the  closer  in  that  embrace. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

new  day  opened  a  new  and  fertile 
country  before  Seyd's  sleepy  eyes,  a  country 
wonderfully  beautiful  with  variegated  foliage  of 
coffee,  rubber,  palm,  and  banana  plantations. 

During  the  night  the  Barranca  walls  had, 
while  growing  lower,  closed  in  to  a  long  gorge 
through  which  the  river  ran  like  a  millrace. 
For  two  hours  their  ears  were  dinned  and  deaf 
ened  by  the  roar  and  thunder  of  mad  waters,  but, 
as  the  boulders  of  the  one  rapid  were  buried 
thirty  feet  deep,  they  sustained  nothing  worse 
than  a  slight  deafness  and  natural  apprehension 
at  the  hair-raising  speed  with  which  they  were 
catapulted  onward.  Excepting  those  two  hours 
when  he  had  to  use  both  oars  to  hold  the  dugout's 
head  in  the  center  of  the  current,  Francesca  had 
slept  in  his  arms,  and,  nestling  upon  his  shoulder 
the  moment  they  emerged  upon  quieter  waters, 
she  had  fallen  asleep  once  more,  nor  did  she 
move  till  the  sun  pointed  a  golden  finger  down 
between  two  clouds. 

Awakening,  she  uttered  a  small  cry  and  lay 
for  a  few  seconds  looking  up  into  Seyd's  face,  her 
eyes  blank  with  bewildered  terror.  Then,  recog- 

260 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

nizing  him,  she  gave  a  sob  of  relief.  "Oh,  I  was 
dreaming — that  I  was  at  El  Quiss — to  stay  there 
— forever!"  She  paused  and  sat  for  a  moment 
looking  into  his  tired  face,  then  burst  out:  "Oh, 
little  animal!  All  night  I  slept  while  you  kept 
watch.  Now  you  shall  sleep." 

Taking  his  place  in  the  stern,  she  forced  him, 
with  pretty  authority,  to  cushion  his  head  in  her 
lap.  6tSi,J.  will  awaken  you  before  we  reach  the 
harbor,  but  do  not  dare  to  open  an  eye  till  then." 

The  command  was  unnecessary,  for,  completely 
fagged,  he  had  no  more  than  lain  down  when  he 
was  fast  asleep.  Until  sure  of  the  fact  she  sat 
perfectly  still.  Then,  with  a  rueful  glance  at  her 
soiled  and  shrunken  garments,  she  murmured, 
"Nevertheless,  we  must  try  to  look  our  best." 

After  a  second  shy  study  of  his  sleeping  face 
she  let  down  her  hair  and  began  to  comb  it  out 
with  her  slender  fingers.  Because  of  the  length 
and  thickness  of  the  dark  masses  this  proved  a 
long  task.  The  dugout  had  drifted  miles  before 
she  finished  the  coiffure  with  small  feminine  pats. 
Reassured  that  he  still  slept,  she  dipped  her  hand 
kerchief  overside  and  washed  her  face  and  neck. 

Her  own  toilet  completed,  she  next  essayed  his. 
After  warming  the  wet  handkerchief  against  her 
own  cheek  she  cleansed  his  face  with  delicate 
touches,  then,  with  the  same  soft  white  comb — 
her  fingers — smoothed  his  hair.  Discovering,  in 
the  process,  a  few  gray  hairs,  she  murmured: 
"Oh,  pobre!  See  what  I  have  cost  thee!" 

261 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Very  gently  she  began  to  trace  and  smooth  out 
the  lines  of  worry  upon  his  face,  and,  rediscover 
ing  his  cleft  chin,  she  repeated,  with  a  soft  laugh, 
her  comment  made  that  night  in  the  shepherd's 
hut.  "Oh,  fickle!  fickle!  I  said  thy  wife  would 
need  the  sharpest  of  eyes,  but  they  will  needs 
have  nimble  fingers  that  steal  thee  from  me." 

Her  face  at  that  moment  formed  a  playground 
for  all  that  was  arch,  but  presently  it  took  the 
shadow  of  sadder  thoughts.  Brimming  over,  a 
big  tear  rolled  down  her  cheek.  Yet,  while  sin 
cerely  sorry  for  Sebastien,  she  was  perfectly 
frank  with  herself  in  thought.  "I  would  not,  if 
I  could,  bring  him  back.  'Twould  mean  only 
more  trouble — for  all  of  us.  Now,  at  least,  he 
is  at  peace. 

"They  will  think  me  hard  and  cruel."  Her 
musings  continued.  "The  whole  Barranca  will 
throw  up  hands  of  horror — th^  hands  that  ap 
plauded  the  greater  sin  when  I  gave  myself  with 
out  love  in  marriage.  Bueno!"  She  scornfully 
tossed  her  head.  "Wicked  or  not,  I  will  do  it — 
for  thee." 

She  squeezed  his  face  so  hard,  murmuring  it, 
that  he  stirred,  and  for  fully  a  minute  thereafter 
she  sat  holding  her  breath.  But  he  slept  on. 
During  the  last  hour  the  river  had  widened,  and 
along  its  banks  tufted  cocoa  palms  were  woven 
with  the  brighter  foliage  of  bananas  into  the  rich 
green  damask  of  the  bordering  jungle.  Also  the 
sun  had  prevailed  for  a  few  hours  in  the  daily 

262 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

battle  with  the  mists,  and  under  the  golden  spell 
of  light  and  warmth  the  girl's  musings  grew 
happier  as  they  floated  on.  When  she  awoke 
him  to  the  sight  of  the  blue  harbor  opening  up 
from  behind  a  long  bend,  Seyd  looked  up  at  a 
smiling  face. 

"That's  the  American  consulate."  After  rub 
bing  the  sleep  out  of  his  eyes  he  pointed  out  a 
white  stone  building  which  perched,  like  a  gull, 
on  a  terrace  above  the  flaming  rose  and  gold  of 
the  adobe  town.  "We'll  go  there.  The  consul 
is  a  fine  old  fellow.  He'll  help  us  all  he  can." 

First,  however,  they  were  destined  to  en 
counter  the  unexpected,  for  when,  an  hour  later, 
Seyd  pulled  the  dugout  into  a  ragged  wooden 
pier  an  officer  in  the  silver  and  gray  of  the  Mex 
ican  rurales  pushed  through  the  peon  laborers 
who  thronged  the  wharf. 

"You  are  from  up  river,  senor?  Then  you  can 
tell  us  of  the  flood  in  the  Barranca.  A  cousin  of 
mine,  Don  Sebastien —  Caramba!"  At  the 
sight  of  Francesca  he  broke  suddenly  off.  "It 
is  surely  the  senorita  Garcia?  You  will  remem 
ber  me,  Eduardo  Gallardo,  upon  the  occasion 
that  I  visited,  at  San  Nicolas,  your  uncle,  the 
excellent  General  Garcia,  with  my  wife,  who  is  of 
your  kinsfolk?" 

Recognizing  him  while  he  was  still  in  the  crowd, 
Francesca  had  gained  time  to  prepare.  His  use 
of  her  maiden  name  proved  that  here  at  the  port 
they  had  heard  nothing  as  yet  of  her  marriage, 

263 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

so,  after  briefly  describing  Sebastien's  death  and 
the  destruction  of  El  Quiss,  she  concluded:  "I 
was  saved  by  the  senor,  here,  who  rode  in  to  warn 
us.  But  for  him  I  also  should  have  drowned." 

And  Seyd  availed  himself  of  the  opening.  "  As 
the  senorita  is  completely  exhausted,  senor,  you 
will  please  to  excuse  us.  We  go  to  the  American 
consulate." 

"But  why  the  consulate,  senor,"  the  rural 
politely  objected,  "when  she  owns  here  the  house 
of  her  kinswoman?  The  seriora,  my  wife— 

"Si,  I  have  heard  of  her — nothing  that  is  not 
lovely."  Drawing  him  a  little  aside,  Francesca 
proceeded  to  heal,  with  winning  smiles,  the 
wound  in  his  pride.  "You  shall  give  her  my 
love,  cousin.  Tell  her  that  I  should  prefer  to 
visit  her,  but,  having  taken  my  life  from  the  hand 
of  this  senor,  I  cannot  do  otherwise  than  fall  in 
with  his  plans." 

Deferring  with  Latin  politeness  to  her  wish, 
his  pride  was  none  the  less  hurt,  and  while  they 
climbed  the  hill  to  the  consulate  he  hurried  home 
to  his  wife,  whose  feminine  intuitions  placed  the 
whole  matter  in  an  entirely  new  light. 

"  A  gringo,  sayest  thou?  Then  it  will  be  he  for 
whose  sake  she  was  sent  away  to  Europe.  Me 
dium  tall,  is  he,  with  a  straight  nose,  hollow 
cheeks,  quick  gray  eyes?  The  very  man  that 
Paulo,  the  administrador,  described  to  me  on  his 
last  visit  to  the  port.  Caramba!  Here's  fine 
bread  for  the  baking!  'Tis  told  all  over  the 

264 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

Barranca  that  she  has  this  man  in  her  blood,  and 
count  me  for  a  liar  if  she  comes  with  him  this  far 
for  any  purpose  but  marriage.  'Twill  never  do 
to  have  Don  Luis  knocking  at  our  door  to  ask 
why  we  let  her  go  before  our  very  eyes.  He  is  a 
power,  hombrecita,  with  the  government,  thy 
master,  and,  fail  or  win,  we  lose  nothing  by  try 
ing  to  trip  her  run.  And  'twill  be  easy !  A  word 
in  the  ear  of  the  jefe,  judge,  and  priest,  and  'tis 
done.  And  do  not  sleep  on  it.  Away  with  you — 
at  once." 

In  his  cool  white  salon  on  the  hill  above,  the 
consul — a  portly  old  fellow  with  a  clean,  good- 
natured  face — was  counseling  Seyd  at  that 
moment  in  almost  the  same  terms. 

"As  you  say,  this  is  no  time  to  stand  on  con 
ventions — especially  after  the  man  had  locked 
you  in  and  left  you  to  drown.  After  seeing  the 
young  lady" — his  smiling  glance  went  to  the 
door  through  which  Francesca  had  just  gone  with 
his  wife — "I  should  feel  less  than  ever  like  pro 
tracted  mourning.  Besides,  it  is  now  or  never. 
If  you  don't  marry  her  at  once  the  chance  may 
never  come  again.  If  Eduardo  Gallardo  hadn't 
seen  you  it  would  have  been  quite  simple.  I 
could  have  fixed  it  up  for  you  all  right.  But  he 
is  counted  something  of  a  sneak,  and  if  he  once 
sniffs  the  wind — well,  you  can  be  sure  he  won't 
let  such  a  chance  slip  to  better  himself  with  Gen 
eral  Garcia.  You've  simply  got  to  beat  him  to  it." 

After  a  pause  of  thought  he  went  on:    "In 

265 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

their  usual  course,  both  the  legal  and  ecclesias 
tical  procedures  are  very  slow.  It  takes  about  a 
week  for  the  lawyers  to  coin  the  bridegroom's 
natural  impatience  into  ready  money,  and  after 
they  are  through  the  Church  holds  out  its  hand 
for  what's  left.  It's  an  awful  graft,  but  has  its 
advantages,  for  if  the  wheels  are  well  greased 
they  spin  like  lightning.  Shut  up !  I  don't  have 
to  be  told  that  you  emerged  from  the  flood  with 
empty  pockets.  I'll  attend  to  that,  and  you  can 
settle  with  me  any  old  time.  All  you  have  to  do  " 
— taking  Seyd  by  the  shoulders,  he  marched  him 
into  his  own  bedroom — "is  to  take  a  shave  and 
bath  and  make  yourself  look  as  much  as  you  can 
like  a  happy  bridegroom." 

With  a  last  order,  "Help  yourself  from  my 
clothes,"  he  went  out  laughing.  But  when  he 
returned  an  hour  later  his  smile  was  obscured  by 
a  vexed  cloud.  "Eduardo  wins,"  he  reported 
to  Seyd,  who  had  just  come  out  on  the  veranda. 
"He  must  have  gone  right  to  it,  for  when  I  ar 
rived  at  the  edificio  municipal  they  were  already 
primed.  The  judge  and  jefe-politico  both  count 
themselves  of  mine,  but  they  wouldn't  do  a 
thing.  Really  you  can't  blame  them.  El  general 
Garcia  is  a  name  to  conjure  with  down  here,  and 
they  are  all  afraid  of  their  official  heads.  'Much 
as  we  would  like  to  serve  you,'  and  so  forth,  '  but 
in  the  case  of  a  young  lady  of  such  high  family 
we  dare  not  proceed  without  her  guardian's 
written  consent.' 

266 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"And  the  jefe  gave  me  good  advice.  El  cap- 
itan,  Eduardo,  it  seems,  is  not  only  ambitious, 
but  not  a  bit  too  scrupulous  about  the  way  by 
which  he  gains  his  ends.  So  you  must  not  go 
out  alone.  It  would  be  quite  easy  to  trump  up 
some  charge,  arrest,  and  then  shoot  you  as  an 
escaping  prisoner  under  the  law  of  El  Fug  a. 
You  wouldn't  be  the  first  to  be  shot  inside  the 
prison  and  then  thrown  outside,  and,  though  I 
should  most  certainly  hold  an  inquiry  and  kick 
up  an  awful  row,  that  wouldn't  bring  you  back 
to  life.  Also  we  shall  have  to  look  out  that  they 
don't  kidnap  your  girl." 

While  the  consul  was  thus  easing  his  bosom  of 
its  load  of  doubt  Seyd  had  stared  out  over  the 
blue  harbor  at  a  steamer  that  was  taking  cargo 
from  a  dozen  lighters.  Suddenly  he  asked, 
"What  ship  is  that?" 

"The  Curacao,  of  San  Francisco." 

"American,  then.     When  does  she  sail?" 

"To-morrow  morning  at  five." 

"How  far  outside  the  harbor  does  Mexican 
jurisdiction  extend?" 

"The  usual  three  miles  beyond  the  headlands." 

Seyd  came  to  his  point.  "Then  what  is  to 
prevent  her  skipper  from  marrying  us?" 

"Bueno!"  The  consul  slapped  him  on  the 
back.  "He'll  do  it  sure,  for  he's  a  friend  of 
mine.  Bravo!  Trust  your  lover  to  find  a  way." 

18 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

TNSTEAD  of  the  steps  of  a  church,  which 
A  form  the  natural  way  to  their  new  estate 
for  the  great  majority  of  brides,  Francesca 
stepped  into  hers  from  the  companion  ladder  of 
the  Curacao.  But  there  had  been  various  hap 
penings — the  visit  of  the  Dona  Gracio  de  Gallardo 
y  Garcio  to  urge,  in  her  own  stout  black  person, 
Francesca's  acceptance  of  her  house  and  con 
tents,  her  husband's  equally  hospitable  offer  of 
horses  and  escort  for  her  safe  conduct  to  San 
Nicolas,  also  his  subsequent  espionage  and  the 
means  by  which  they  evaded  it.  And  now  she 
was  stepping  from  the  companionway  into  the 
launch  which  was  to  take  the  newly  married  pair. 
Just  as  the  consul  had  done  his  best  for  Seyd, 
so,  with  a  woman's  natural  enthusiasm  for  a  wed 
ding,  his  wife  had  dressed  the  girl.  By  means  of 
a  few  pins  plus  a  basting  needle  a  pretty  dress 
had  been  pulled  into  a  perfect  fit,  and  out  of  its 
foam  her  shapely  head  now  rose  like  a  delicate 
dark  flower.  In  the  dusk  of  a  crushed  panama 
her  clear-cut  face  glowed  with  unusual  color. 
Swaying  there  on  Seyd's  arm,  she  made  a  picture 
which  drew  the  admiration  of  the  men  and  the 
tender  sympathy  of  the  women  passengers  who 

268 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

looked  down  upon  them  from  the  rail.  While 
Seyd  was  handing  her  into  the  launch  a  storm 
of  rice  broke  overhead  and  fell  softly  into  the 
water,  and  when,  leaving  them  dancing  in  its 
wake,  the  big  hulk  of  the  ship  moved  on,  a  hearty 
cheer  floated  back  to  them. 

If  not  so  boisterous,  the  congratulations  of  the 
consul  at  the  pier  were  equally  hearty.  "You 
didn't  do  it  a  bit  too  soon,"  he  informed  them. 
"Just  after  you  left  friend  Eduardo  notified  me 
that  it  had  been  decided  in  a  family  council  that 
your  wife  should  go  at  once  to  the  house  of  her 
relative.  Without  actually  saying  it  he  gave  me 
to  understand  that  a  charge  of  kidnapping  lay 
behind  the  demand.  Just  for  the  fun  of  it  I  let 
him  wander  along,  and  when  I  sprang  it,  and  told 
him  that  by  this  time  you  were  undoubtedly 
married,  you  should  have  seen  his  face.  He  won't 
trouble  you  again — neither  will  he  furnish  you 
horses." 

"That  doesn't  matter,"  his  wife  put  in.  "I 
have  that  all  arranged." 

"What?"  The  consul  looked  his  surprise. 
"What's  this?  A  conspiracy?  I  expected  that 
you  would  stay  with  us  at  least  a  week?" 

"No."  His  wife  took  the  answer  into  her  own 
hands.  "You  know,  Francesca's  mother  and 
uncle  are  grieving  in  the  belief  that  she  is 
drowned.  And  she  has  other  reasons  of  her  own 
— and  yours,"  she  added  for  Seyd.  "Though 
you  are  not  to  bother  her  with  questions." 

269 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

At  the  consulate  breakfast  was  waiting,  and 
in  the  cheer  of  the  following  hour  and  bustle  of 
departure  Seyd  forgot  his  momentary  wonder. 
It  did  not  revive  until,  early  that  afternoon,  they 
reined  in  to  rest  their  horses  on  the  crest  of  the 
first  hill  in  the  chain  that  led  in  giant  steps  up  to 
the  plateau  above  the  Barranca.  As  they  rode 
on,  after  a  last  look  at  the  harbor,  which  lay  like 
a  huge  turquoise  within  its  setting  of  hills,  he 
looked  inquiringly  at  Francesca. 

"Can  you  not  guess?"  she  asked.  When  he 
shook  his  head  she  rallied  him  with  a  happy 
laugh  upon  his  dullness.  "I  think  your  memory 
is  very  poor,  Senor  Rosario." 

"What— Rosa!"  For  instantly  there  flashed 
up  a  picture  of  her  wet  face  looking  at  him  from 
under  her  capote  hood  on  the  day  that  he  found 
her  standing  in  the  rain  beside  her  fallen  horse. 

"So  you  recognize  me  at  last?" 

"You  don't  mean  to  say — " 

"Si,  senor,  my  husband" — contradicting  her 
laugh,  a  deep  thrill  inhered  in  the  words — "it  is 
even  so.  In  the  days  before  the  railroad,  when 
there  was  great  travel  between  San  Nicolas  and 
the  port,  Don  Luis  maintained  houses  a  day's 
journey  apart.  Though  none  of  our  family  has 
visited  them  in  the  last  two  years,  they  were  in 
good  condition  when  Paulo  passed  this  way  at 
the  beginning  of  the  rains.  So  to-night,  Rosario, 
we  bide  in  our  own  house." 

Again  did  her  accent  on  the  "our"  move  and 

270 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

thrill  him.  Always  undemonstrative,  however, 
he  merely  caught  her  hand,  and  so,  linked  like 
children,  they  rode  on  side  by  side.  At  first 
they  observed  a  happy  silence,  but  presently  the 
trail  took  on  such  remarkable  likeness  to  the  one 
they  had  traveled  that  other  day,  proceeding 
from  the  stretches  of  black  volcanic  rock  through 
copal  and  scrub  oak  to  sparsely  grassed  barrens, 
that  the  strength  of  the  associations  forced  them 
into  talk. 

"That's  where  your  horse  fell,"  he  began  it. 
When  she  agreed,  he  asked,  "I  wonder  if  you  had 
any  conception  of  the  risks  you  were  running 
when  you  rode  behind  me?" 

Though  she  knew  very  well  what  he  meant,  she 
pretended  ignorance  and  made  him  explain  in 
detail  his  feelings  at  the  sight  of  her  hands  resting 
like  white  butterflies  on  the  front  of  his  coat,  his 
sudden  emotion  when  the  scent  of  her  wet  hair 
floated  over  his  shoulder,  utter  intoxication  when 
ever  a  slip  of  his  horse  caused  her  to  tighten  her 
hold  on  his  waist. 

"You  hid  it  very  cleverly,"  was  her  comment 
upon  these  revelations. 

"And  you  never  knew  it?" 

"Of  course  I  did."  To  which  she  added  the 
brazen  confession,  "Or  I  would  not  have  done 
it." 

Shooting  over  a  hill  not  long  thereafter,  the 
trail  suddenly  fell  through  copal  and  oak  woods 
into  a  sheltered  valley  where,  with  a  suddenness 

271 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

that  drew  an  exclamation  of  admiration  from 
Seyd,  they  came  in  sight  of  the  house.  A  small 
adobe,  washed  with  gold  with  pale-violet  borders, 
it  stood  under  a  great  banyan  tree  within  the 
embrace  of  a  grove  of  tall  palms.  Almost  across 
its  doorway  a  bright  arroyo  ran  swiftly,  to  dis 
appear  in  the  dark  shade  of  clump  tamarinds. 
All  the  afternoon  the  sun  had  pursued  a  futile 
struggle  with  the  ocean  mists,  and  now,  complet 
ing  the  beauty  of  the  place,  it  shot  a  last  cop 
pery  shaft  between  two  clouds. 

"A  happy  augury,"  was  Francesca's  greeting 
to  the  pathway  of  light.  "Now  let  it  rain." 

The  door  was  unlocked,  and,  entering  with  her, 
he  found  the  interior  equally  to  his  taste.  The 
solid  walls  were  cream-tinted,  and  after  he  had 
lit  the  wood  which  was  ready  on  the  open  hearth 
they  reflected  a  comfortable  glow  on  massive 
tables  and  chairs  of  plain  oak,  wide  settees,  and 
roomy  lounges.  His  satisfaction  was  complete 
when  she  told  him  that  it  stood  alone.  The 
knowledge  that  they  would  be  barred  by  leagues 
of  distance,  shut  in  by  the  rainy  night  from  the 
rest  of  the  world,  filled  him  with  deep  content. 
From  a  survey,  conscious  of  warmth  and  com 
fort,  his  satisfied  gaze  returned  to  the  fingers 
which  were  fluttering  like  white  butterflies  from 
button  to  button  down  her  raincoat. 

"  Lazy  one !"  She  spoke  with  a  pretty  assump 
tion  of  wifely  authority.  "Stable  the  horses — 
but  first  bring  in  the  bundle  from  my  crup- 

272 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

per.  While  you  are  out  I  shall  prepare  our 
meal." 

"  What !  Do  we  really  eat?  How  thoughtful ! 
It  had  never  occurred  to  me." 

"A  pretty  beginning,"  she  made  demure 
answer,  "for  a  wife  to  starve  her  husband." 

Neither  could  there  be  any  complaint  of  the 
meal  that  faced  him  on  his  return,  for  it  repre 
sented  the  best  that  could  be  bought  or  borrowed 
by  the  consul's  wife.  Afterward  Seyd  would 
have  washed  the  dishes,  but,  taking  him  by  the 
shoulders,  Francesca  marched  him  back  to  the 
fire. 

"No,  I  shall  do  it  myself.  Please?"  She 
headed  off  the  mutiny  betrayed  by  his  eyes. 
"If  you  knew  how  often  I  have  peeped  into  our 
work-folks'  adobes  at  night  to  watch,  with  envy, 
some  little  peona  preparing  her  man's  meal,  you 
would  understand."  So,  smoking  by  the  fire,  he 
watched  with  huge  comfort  the  play  of  dimples 
in  her  arms  and  the  fluttering  of  the  small  hands 
which  seemed  so  hopelessly  at  odds  with  their 
task. 

While  working  she  chattered  happily,  but  after 
the  last  dish  was  ranged  in  the  plate  rack  on  the 
wall  she  came  to  him  and  sank  in  a  graceful  heap 
beside  his  chair.  Head  pillowed  on  one  white 
arm  spread  across  his  knee,  she  gazed  thought 
fully  into  the  fire;  and,  looking  down  upon  her, 
Seyd's  thought  reverted  once  more  to  the 
shepherd's  hut.  Again  he  had  difficulty  in 

273 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

realizing  that  it  was  indeed  he,  Robert  Seyd, 
mining  engineer,  who  was  sharing  food  and  fire 
with  this,  his  wife,  daughter  on  one  side  of  a 
proud  Spanish  house  and  on  the  other  of  descent 
that  ran  back  into  the  dim  time  of  the  Aztecs. 

Her  voice  called  him  out  of  his  wonder,  and 
while  the  fire  leaped  and  crackled  in  defiance  of 
the  wind  and  rain  without  they  talked  of  this  and 
that,  their  trials  and  travail,  absent  thoughts, 
hopes ;  and  in  the  telling  of  it  they  obtained  sur 
cease  from  the  smart  of  past  misunderstandings. 
Also  there  were  confessions.  Each  told — she 
with  a  blush — how  they  had  overlooked  each 
other's  sleep  in  the  shepherd's  hut.  Because 
opportunity  for  such  communion  had  been  alto 
gether  lacking,  they  talked  late.  Their  murmurs 
died  with  the  last  light  of  the  fire. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

A'  high  noon  two  days  thereafter  Seyd  and 
Francesca  drew  rein  on  the  rim  of  the 
Barranca  above  San  Nicolas. 

During  the  moment  that  the  horses  rested 
their  thoughts  reverted  to  the  last  occasion  when 
they  had  overlooked  the  great  void,  and  if  the 
thought  of  Sebastien  brought  a  touch  of  sadness 
into  the  girl's  reflections  it  caused  no  bitterness. 
She  turned  with  a  low  laugh  when  Seyd  produced 
from  an  inner  pocket  the  handkerchief  he  had 
picked  up  that  day  on  the  trail. 

"It  did,"  she  said,  when  he  told  how  it  seemed 
to  drip  tears.  "I  had  cried  all  the  way  up  the 
trail  to  the  rim." 

After  the  usual  nightly  downpour  the  sun  had 
come  out,  and  under  a  flood  of  golden  light  the 
valley  floor  stood  out  in  relief,  with  its  wooded 
hills  and  hollows  diminished  to  toy  proportions 
by  the  awful  depth.  In  the  center  the  casa  of 
San  Nicolas  sat  like  a  gold  cup  in  the  wide  green 
saucer  of  surrounding  pastures.  Beyond,  the 
river  lay,  a  band  of  fretted  silver,  splitting  the 
valley;  and,  following  its  course  upward,  the 
girl's  eye  paused  at  the  yellow  scar,  high  on 

275 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

the  opposite  wall,  which  marked  Santa  Ger- 
trudis. 

"My  beacon  on  many  a  dark  day."  She 
pointed. 

"And  that  reminds  me  that  it  is  in  great  danger 
of  being  extinguished,"  Seyd  answered.  "Our 
first  payment  was  due  the  day  before  yesterday. 
Unless  Billy  has  returned  in  my  absence  with  the 
money — and  I  haven't  the  slightest  hope — the 
property  is  forfeited  to  your  uncle." 

"But  he  will  not  claim  it."  Out  of  her  simple 
woman's  faith  she  went  on:  "He  is  too  good  and 
kind  to  advantage  himself  by  your  misfortune. 
In  spite  of  his  hate  for  the  gringos,  he  likes  you 
personally.  Now  that  you  are — my  husband,  he 
will  not  attempt  your  harm." 

In  view  of  his  present  clear  view  of  Don  Luis's 
machinations,  Seyd  was  not  so  sure.  Unwilling 
to  hurt  her,  he  conceded:  "Well,  we  shall  see. 
Let  us  ride  on  down." 

"Not  together,  dear."  Leaning  over,  she 
caught  his  arm.  "I  must  see  him  first  alone. 
He  will  be  furiously  angry,  of  course.  But  the 
angrier  the  better,  for  just  so  much  sooner  will 
follow  the  calm." 

"But  he  may  try—" 

"—To  take  me  from  you?"  She  took  the 
words  out  of  his  mouth.  "He  cannot.  In  a 
day,  a  week,  a  month,  sooner  or  later,  I  should 
escape.  They  could  not  forever  keep  me  locked 
up.  But  he  will  not  try.  You  know,  he  stole 

276 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

his  own  wife,  snatched  her  away  while  she  was 
going  to  church  to  marry  another,  and  he  comes 
of  a  race  that  gained  wives  as  often  as  not  by  the 
sword.  He  cannot  blame  you  without  condemn 
ing  himself,  and  I  am  sure  that  he  will  not  try. 
If  you  give  me  a  little  time  to  conquer  him  and 
soothe  my  poor  scandalized  mother  it  will  come 
out  all  right.  So  you  must  go  on  to  Santa  Ger- 
trudis  now  and  see  if  there  be  any  news  of  Senor 
Thornton.  And  to-morrow — you  may  come." 

"If  you  have  the  slightest  doubt" — loath  to 
let  her  out  of  his  hands,  he  hesitated — "I  would 
ride  on  to  the  station.  Beautiful  as  is  this  place, 
and  much  as  I  have  come  to  love  it,  I  would 
rather  abandon  all  than  incur  the  risk." 

"But  there  is  none,  husband  mine."  She 
looked  up  in  his  face,  tenderly  smiling.  "He 
will  rage  and  roar  like  an  old  lion,  but  that  is  all. 
I  should  be  only  half  a  woman  to  have  come  to 
my  age  without  learning  to  manage  him.  Re 
member,  for  the  second  time  you  have  saved  my 
life,  and,  being  already  married,  he  cannot  deny 
us.  So  go  in  peace,  and" — she  put  up  her 
mouth— "love." 

In  spite  of  her  reassurance,  he  watched  her  go 
with  apprehension  that  took  a  blacker  tinge  when, 
arriving  at  the  inn  late  in  the  afternoon,  he  found 
no  word  from  Billy.  Though  the  inn's  meager 
accommodations  had  not  been  improved  by  a 
slap  from  the  wing  tip  of  the  wave,  he  remained 
there  all  night  in  preference  to  crossing  and  re- 

277 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

crossing  the  river.  With  so  much  at  stake,  Santa 
Gertrudis  could  take  care  of  itself  for  another 
day.  Sleeping  with  anxiety  for  a  bedfellow,  he 
rose  and  was  on  the  road  at  daybreak — but  not  a 
bit  earlier  than  Francesca,  who  met  him  halfway. 

"I  knew  you  would  be  anxious,"  she  explained, 
"so  I  saddled  a  horse  and  stole  away  while  all  of 
San  Nicolas  was  still  asleep.  But  not  for  nothing 
are  you  to  have  my  news.  Si,  it  is  good! 

"Twas  as  I  said,"  she  went  on,  having  re 
ceived  her  reward.  "The  madre  had  already 
cried  herself  beyond  further  tears,  and  was  glad 
to  have  me  on  any  terms.  The  good  uncle,  of 
course,  stormed.  Never  was  there  such  a  battle 
since  the  French  wars,  and  had  you  been  there 
'twould  not  have  lacked  its  killed  and  wounded. 
Until  midnight  we  fought;  then,  after  cursing  the 
blood  of  the  Irishman  that  has  always  led  me 
astray,  he  gave  in.  '  'Tis  not  for  an  old  soldier  to 
cross  tongues  with  a  woman,'  he  growled.  'To 
morrow  bring  me  thy  man.'  But  he  knew  that 
he  was  beaten,"  she  finished,  confidently,  "for 
when  I  kissed  him  he  laughed  in  his  throat  and 
patted  my  hair." 

Again  Seyd  refused  to  dash  her  hope,  but  he 
was  not  quite  convinced,  and  when  they  entered 
the  big  living-room  where  Don  Luis  stood  with 
Paulo  in  waiting  his  dark  gravity  cast  its  shadow 
over  the  girl's  glad  face.  His  immobility  afforded 
no  clue  to  the  feeling  that  lay  behind  the  stereo 
typed  greeting,  "The  house,  senor,  is  yours." 

278 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

"I  am  the  more  pleased  to  see  you,"  he  went 
on,  "because  Paulo  reminded  me  an  hour  ago  of 
a  matter  of  business  that  lies  between  us.  Such 
things  stick  not  in  my  memory.  But  I  believe 
it  concerns  some  money." 

"  Senor !"  Her  face  flaming  with  the  scarlet  of 
shame,  Francesca  was  moving  forward. 

He  stopped  her  with  a  shake  of  his  heavy  head. 
"This  is  between  me  and — your  husband.  The 
papers,  Paulo.  Hand  them  to  the  senor." 

It  was  a  legal  process,  signed  and  sealed  accord 
ing  to  Mexican  law,  and  before  opening  it  Seyd 
knew  it  for  the  end.  More  out  of  curiosity  than 
for  information,  he  rapidly  scanned  the  terms 
which  had  taken  Santa  Gertrudis  and  its  mined 
riches  forever  out  of  his  hands.  While  he  read, 
Don  Luis  studied  his  face.  If  he  looked  for  signs 
of  deep  hurt  there  were  none  to  be  seen,  for  hi 
the  long  game  between  them  Seyd  was  con 
fronted  for  the  first  time  by  the  expected.  He 
looked  up,  squaring  his  shoulders. 

"The  victory  is  yours,  senor." 

To  Francesca's  anxious  eyes  it  seemed  that 
the  old  man's  gravity  lightened  by  a  shade. 
"You  will  concede,  senor,  that  I  warned  you — 
that  no  gringo  would  ever  force  himself  in  on  my 
lands?" 

"Yes,  and  I  did  my  best  to  disprove  it.  For 
my  partner's  sake  I  am  sorry.  For  my  own" — 
he  looked  at  his  wife — "I  am  glad." 

"Well    spoken,    senor."     The    shadow    of    a 

279 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

smile  illumined  the  old  man's  dark  reserve. 
"But  if  I  warned  you,  it  does  not  follow  that  I 
have  not  watched  with  some  sympathy  your 
struggle.  In  watching,  too,  my  old  eyes  have 
been  opened  upon  truths  that  I  had  refused  to 
see,  though  they  lay  under  my  nose.  We  are 
an  old  people,  serior,  we  Mexicans.  The  old 
blood  of  Spain  added  no  effervescence  to  the 
Aztec  strains  that  were  grown  stagnant  long 
before  Cortez  landed,  and  when  a  people  ages 
nature  removes  it  to  make  way  for  younger 
stock.  Si,  though  I  refused  to  acknowledge  it, 
I  have  known  many  years  that  just  as  the  Moors 
overran  Spain,  and  the  Spanish  overran  the 
Aztecs,  so  will  your  people  overrun  Mexico  from 
the  Northern  Sierras  to  the  Gulf. 

"Once  I  had  thought  to  stay  it.  But  time 
cools  the  hottest  blood,  and  the  one  I  had  counted 
upon  to  uphold  my  old  hands  is  gone  to  his  place 
forever.  Also  I  have  seen  that  no  man  can 
dam  the  tide  or  shut  the  gates  that  Porfirio  Diaz 
opened.  As  it  went  with  Texas  and  Alta  Cali 
fornia  so  will  it  go  with  all  our  states.  Against 
your  Yankee  our  softer  people  can  never  stand. 
In  the  time  to  come  only  those  of  us  that  mix 
blood  with  shrewder  strains  will  be  able  to  with 
stand  the  flood,  and  thus  it  is  I,  who  would  have 
killed  once  the  man  that  said  I  should  ever  take  a 
gringo  for  kinsman,  accept  you  with  resignation, 
Perhaps  it  is  the  easier  because  one  such  mixture 
gave  us  this  bright  girl.  And  if  you  took  time 

280 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  BARRANCA 

by  the  forelock  'tis  not  for  me  to  grumble. 
One  word  more — "  He  threw  one  arm  around 
Francesca,  who  had  crossed  to  his  side.  "It  has 
never  been  the  habit  of  the  Garcias  to  overlook 
a  good  dower  to  one  of  the  house,  and  the  fact 
that  my  niece  has  given  you  herself  in  exchange 
for  her  life  does  not  cancel  my  debt.  Give  me 
the  papers.  The  others,  Paulo — to  the  sefior." 

While  Seyd  gazed  at  the  title  deeds  to  Santa 
Gertrudis,  made  out  to  himself  and  Billy,  the 
old  man  slowly  tore  up  the  forfeiture.  Applying 
a  match  to  the  pieces,  he  threw  them  on  the 
hearth,  and,  blazing  up,  they  added  warmth  to 
the  grim  smile  that  accompanied  his  words. 

"I  told  you,  senor,  that  no  gringo  should  ever 
force  himself  in  on  my  land." 


THE   END 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recalL 


LD 


rt  3 


LD  2lA-50/n-3,'62 
(C7097slO)476B 


General  Library 
University  of  Califon 
Berkeley 


IB  40128 


•090 


UNIVERSITY  OP  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


